He's handsome but in a way you can't rule out inbreeding. Just like his rider.
Like its phenomenally successful predecessor Game of Thrones (see here), House of the Dragon has generated quite the amount of memes.
Season 1
- "JUST SHOW US THE DAMN DRAGONS!"ExplanationPart of the show's biggest draw was the reveal that it would feature seventeen Targaryen dragons. With the series' slow burn having only shown three dragons so far, and in very little screentime at that, fans who are Just Here for Godzilla are complaining about the character drama and holding back on the dragon scenes.
- Dammit Joffrey, quit spoiling!Explanation (Spoilers)In the third season of Game of Thrones, Joffrey Baratheon snarkily tells the story of Rhaenyra (by then a 170-year old historical account) of how Aegon's dragon devoured her and left her bones in the crypt. Joffrey, already a Hate Sink during GOT's run, became even more hated due to HOTD focusing on Rhaenyra's story.
- Daemon is the Eleventh Doctor.ExplanationDaemon Targaryen is played by Matt Smith, who also portrayed the Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who. Plenty of Actor Allusion memes ensue.
- "Matt Smith is the perfect casting as Daemon, he's handsome but in a way that you can't rule out inbreeding".
- "Same goes for his dragon!"ExplanationCaraxes, Daemon's dragon, is oddly misshapen with an overly-long neck and squeaky roar, which also led to Caraxes fans saying that he is beautiful but also "kinda messed up." The prevalence of inbreeding in the show also garnered joking implications the dragons were severely inbred as well.
- Caraxes the Bewitched of Dragonstone.ExplanationComparing Caraxes to King Carlos II of Spain, who was famously inbred.
- Jokes about the Targaryens inbreeding have led to some pointing out that their descendants have retained their unrealistically good looks despite 300 years of Kissing Cousins. Some have mused that in a more realistic setting, the Targaryens should be horribly deformed at this point, resembling characters like Sid from Ice Age or Sloth from The Goonies.
- Dragon emissions.ExplanationThe atmosphere of HOTD, such as King's Landing, has been criticized for having copious amounts of foggy haze as opposed to clearer skies in GOT. Fans have joked that this is due to pollution from dragon emissions (much like car exhaust causing smog in cities in real life) and that the extinction of the dragons cleared the air.
- With Toilet Humor being ever present in meme culture, fans love to joke about the implications of dragons relieving themselves mid air.
- "It's Daemin' time!"ExplanationMatt Smith also appeared in Morbius as Morbius's brother Milo, and with that film's ascent into memetic levels and the "It's morbin' time!" meme it was little surprise the meme would reach House of the Dragon too.
- Matt Daemon.ExplanationDaemon Targaryen being played by Matt Smith led to some Punny Name jokes comparing him to Matt Damon.
- The opening intro with rivers of blood forming the Targaryen family tree has been criticized for looking like ketchup.
- The Crabfeeder has been memed in comparison to the Crab Rave meme where dancing crabs are used as a form of memetic celebration. Also the "Crab People" joke from South Park.
- The Targaryens all having long blond hair, even the men, have drawn jokes about Legolas or Geralt of Rivia making a cameo.
- Syrax flying over King's Landing inevitably draws jokes about "that last time a dragon flew over King's Landing." More jokes abound of the fact that pedestrians on the streets below don't pay much attention to a huge dragon flying above their heads.
- "Corlys and Viserys, please take a seat."Explanation Corlys trying to wed his 12-year old daughter to Viserys gets compared a lot to To Catch a Predator, with memes portraying Chris Hansen telling Corlys and Viserys to "please take a seat", like in the show when Hansen finally catches the predators in the act after they take the bait.
- Alicent deadfishing.ExplanationAlicent and Viserys clearly have no affection for each other, only marrying due to the duty to produce heirs to the throne. As such after a passion-less, forced sexual tryst with Viserys (added to the Squick factor of Viserys being a far older man who also has rotting sores all over his body), Alicent's blank stare into nothingness as she lies in bed has been compared to that of a dead fish.
- Rhaenys and Corlys, power couple who talk shit about everyone else on the show.
- Everybody looks the same! ExplanationThe focus on the Targaryens who mostly look alike and have similar sounding names jokes abound of how hard it would be to keep track of everybody, especially with GOT's reputation of having way too many characters. (Bear in mind that in the books, the Velaryons and Mysaria also look the same as the Targaryens. The show tried to cut it down.)
- "Aemond is just Daemon with the D switched to the back."ExplanationA joke poking fun at how repetitive and uncreative the Targaryen's names tend to be.
- "You're just a cheap knockoff." "No, I'm the upgrade."ExplanationA meme from The Boys further poking fun at Aemond and Daemon's similar names, as Aemond later grows up into a volatile rogue like Daemon and becomes his fiercest rival.
- House of the "ae".ExplanationMany of the Targaryen's names have an "ae", such as Daemon, Aegon, Baelon, Rhaegar, Daenerys, Rhaenys, Rhaenyra and so on.
- Which has also led to some fans disappointed Viserys isn't spelled "Visaerys" to keep with the theme naming.
- The name "Aegon" is used six times, including Aegon the Conqueror, Alicent's son Aegon, and Aegon Targaryen aka Jon Snow. As such Rhaenyra naming her youngest baby Aegon led to jokes of "Aren't there too many Aegons already?"
- "Daemon is the new Jaime Lannister."ExplanationA handsome and attractive morally-grey Draco in Leather Pants adored by the fandom despite their fair shares of questionable deeds.
- After Rhaenyra was seen ordering a bard to sing the same song in one of the episodes, many fans began to joke about medieval Spotify and that she had a membership as a princess.
- The negative reputation of GOT's last season has made many fans joke that it's best to be "cautiously optimistic", or telling the screenwriters "do NOT blow this for us!"
- The "Prophecy of Ice and Fire" is a Foregone Conclusion to anyone who watched Game of Thrones so the show's attempt to portray its enigma and mystery has been a Dull Surprise to fans. Surprised Pikachu memes abound as fans "prepare" for big twists anyone who saw the original would have seen coming.
- "I'm done with this stupid franchise." Explanation Fans disappointed in the Season 8 ending making Blatant Lies that they're done with this series, only for a Gilligan Cut to them obsessing over House of the Dragon anyway.
- "HBO really do got us crawling back to this series faster than Jaime Lannister did to Cersei."
- "If the dragon incest show hurts your feelings again it's all your own fault!"
- After GOT ended:"My watch has ended." When HOTD premieres: "And now my watch begins."
- "I can't wait to not give a shit again!"ExplanationEven the original Game of Thrones series had plenty of naysayers who thought the series was overrated, didn't care much for the hype, or were turned off by the bleak and cruel premise. The announcement of a prequel series, naturally, couldn't get them to care either.
- The "aaaaaAAAAA" returnsExplanation The brief leitmotif of Daenerys's theme playing as Syrax flies over King's Landing has had fans saying that "the aaaaaAAAAA is back".
- Caraxes' unusual appearance has drawn many humorous comparisons by fans, some joking about the prevalence of inbreeding in Westeros and others comparing his leg-wings to the dinosaur Microraptor.
- Viserys's mourning hobby of the stone carving of Valyria has drawn many comparisons to nerdy hobbies, ranging from Warhammer 40,000 to Legos. There have been many jokes about how he would've married Laena had Corlys just given him a Lego set or him going off on long-winded tangents about Warhammer lore to an increasingly annoyed Alicent.
- Daemon tosses a dragon egg, which led to jokes about the trauma the baby dragon inside probably suffered.
- Due to their various similarities (advisers who have a way with words and subtlety and use them to gradually manipulate people and events through gaining their trust, not to mention their appearances), some fans have taken a liking to calling Ser Otto Hightower the Littlefinger of the show, even christening a similar nickname "Middlefinger".
- This is downplayed in the mid-season episodes where Otto suffers a major setback and is dismissed as Hand of the King by Viserys. The role of a behind-the-scenes manipulator/spymaster goes to Larys Strong instead, who manages to influence Alicent into eventually turning against Rhaenyra and orchestrates the deaths of his own father and brother to advance his own position while also not-so-subtly blackmailing Alicent into letting him get away with it. Needless to say, fans begin to take to compare him to Littlefinger and even Varys (the very similar name in the latter's case also helped).
- Otto Hightower being Hand of the King has led to people taking it to itsabsurdist literal extreme.
- House Hightower sharing a surname with a Constructicon has fueled quite a few Transformers-related jokes.
- Due to Vhagar being the oldest dragon in the series, some memes and jokes portray her as a senile grandmother who mistakes her riders for Visenya and has a negative opinion of Dornishmen. Some fans call her Grandma, Meemaw, and other affectionate terms for grandmothers, or Boomer Dragon.
- "Visenya, have we conquered Dorne yet?" "Sure Grandma, let's get you to bed."
- "How are Balerion and Meraxes doing lately?"ExplanationBalerion and Meraxes were the other two dragons who accompanied Vhagar in Aegon's Conquest but died many decades ago. Part of the "senile grandma Vhagar" meme has Vhagar still looking for them. Or in Meraxes’ case, trying to avenge her by burning “Dornish”
- Laenor Velaryon riding Seasmoke while eagerly whooping in excitement had many fans joking they'd do exactly the same if they were riding a dragon.
- "If I was an enemy soldier and I heard someone saying "WHEEE!" on a dragon I'd probably just die."
- Otto suggesting that Viserys betroth his 17-year old daughter to his 2-year old son has caused many memes to poke fun at the incest/pedophilia Values Dissonance and Otto's constant pimping-out of his descendants.
- Viserys's missing fingers on his rotten hand has caused comparisons to Frodo and suggestions that he joined the Yakuza.
- "We're getting the Godzilla 2014 treatment again."ExplanationGodzilla (2014) drew much criticism due to Godzilla appearing for less than 10 minutes, causing an uproar to fans who were Just Here for Godzilla. Many House of the Dragon fans are similarly disappointed as of Episode 3 that each episode has less than two minutes of dragon screen time, and how slowly they're introducing the dragons. That being said, as early as episode 3 we got some pretty decent battle action from two different dragons.
- The Targaryens of this era having the luxury of saddle-equipped dragons compared to Daenerys, who didn't use any ("just holding on Drogon for dear life"). A more...raunchy take on the meme jokes that Daenerys had armored dragon scales "down there" as she supposedly has the soul of a dragon.
- Daemon reading Viserys's message.ExplanationThe scene in Episode 3 where Daemon receives a message from his brother promosing to send reinforcements to help him in the campaign against the Crabfeeder, which frustrates Daemon so much that he beats the crap out of the poor messenger after reading it, has become quite memetic due to Daemon's face expression and his excessive response to the message. Memers tend to replace Viserys's words in the letter with some random comment that causes Daemon to lash out at the messenger after reading it.
- Rhaenyra having a romantic relationship with Daemon, her uncle, led to many "incest is wincest" memes, as well as people baffled to find so many fans shipping the two wholeheartedly.
- "Is Viserys the...best king so far?!"ExplanationViserys, despite his fair share of questionable moments, has shown genuine responsibility as ruling monarch, prompting many fans to say that he is the best king of Westeros so far...relatively speaking. That is, of the kings we've seen on-screen as characters so far, like Robert or Joffrey, but not including Jaehaerys's cameo or Bran "The Broken" Stark (since the latter just gets started when Game of Thrones ends).
- "Yes, he is best king."Explanation (spoilers)Despite his more controversial acts, such as bedding the far younger Alicent or being unsympathetic to his son Aemond, Viserys has gained the fandom's admiration and sympathy due to his willingness to support and defend Rhaenyra no matter what even in his terminally-ill state of health, as well as pity over everything he suffered through the series.
- Daemon cuts his hair short in episode 4, drawing many jokes about how it emphasizes the size of his chin.
- Caraxes mock-attacking Rhaenyra's ship in the fourth episode drew jokes about him giving her a "vibe check".
- "Would you like to see the tapestries? He has no interest in such things!" ExplanationAlicent suggests in episode 4 that Daemon might like to see the new fine tapestries they imported from Norvos and Qohor that they have on display, only for Viserys to drunkenly burst out laughing before he finishes asking the question, because Daemon is famously a warrior who is not interested in "boring" stuff like artwork. This has generated a couple of memes, often inserting some other subject for derision, i.e. "Daemon has no interest in seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power !" etc. This generated a backlash of other memes where snooty art critics can't wait to see those fine tapestries from Norvos and Qohor.
- Drunk Daemon. Explanation Daemon's nighttime tryst with Rhaenyra has him absolutely plastered the next morning, leading to an oddly hilarious scene where he can hardly even move and is just groaning on the floor with a terrible hangover while Viserys kicks him and berates him for being a disgrace.
- "So you want me to be your whore?"Explanation Criston's upset response to learning Rhaenyra only wants him as a paramour has been repurposed a reaction to someone doing something the memer finds attractive.
- "Ser Criston Cole was put on paid administrative leave for a month" ExplanationSer Criston Cole's savage murder of Joffrey at Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding getting almost no reaction from the king or other authorities received a large number of Black Comedy Police Brutality related jokes. It doesn't help that Cole does eventually rise to Lord Commander.
- "AKAB" (All Kingsguard are Bastards)
- Abolish Kingsguard unions.
- "Someone found a sword and some milk of the poppy on Joffrey later."
- Never be a Joffrey at a wedding in Westeros.ExplanationSer Joffrey Lonmouth's death during the royal wedding marks a second time there's a Joffrey who dies horribly at a wedding in Westeros, with the first being King Joffrey Baratheon's death during the Purple Wedding in the Game of Thrones series. The detail does not go unnoticed by fans.
- Stressed Viserys. ExplanationFans can't help but notice the sheer magnitude of realm-dividing problems poor Viserys has to go through in each episode so far. This is often combined with the Ben Affleck Smoking meme to represent a depressed Viserys who just can't catch a break and has to deal with the issues of his close relatives defying him, all the lords trying to manipulate him, on top of him having to deal with his ailing body suffering from infected wounds. The man just want to play with his Valyria Lego set in peace, damnmit.
- Viserys, Worst Dad Of The YearExplanation (Spoilers)Viserys, despite his more sympathetic qualities, still gets some fandom ire over his anger at Alicent and Aemond after the scuffle, despite the boy having just had his eye stabbed out and his mother weeping and livid about her son being maimed. Regardless of which team they support, many agree it was nonetheless a cruel move for Viserys to treat his traumatized son and wife this way.
- Viserys, Best Dad of the YearExplanation (Spoilers)The meme is flipped on its head in episode 8 where Viserys, severely ailing and literally inches from death, uses all his strength to drag his failing, skeletal body onto the throne room to defend Rhaenyra and her children from their accusations. A lot of fans found this scene admirable and heartwarming...though given that this IS Rhaenyra, it also just spawned jokes of Viserys playing favorites with his children.
- "Viserys loves all his children equally."ExplanationA meme showing Rhaenyra in a big, elaborate picture frame as the center of attention while Helaena, Aemond and Aegon are on small, inconspicuous frames, poking fun at how Viserys defends and supports Rhaenyra even at death's door, but yells at Aemond after he just lost an eye (and even has a Pink Dread figure in his Valyria miniature set, even though it was a tool used to bully Aemond.)
- "Viserys loves Rhaenyra and the not-Rhaenyras" ExplanationAn extension of the previous meme, jokingly suggesting that Viserys can't even be bothered to learn the names of his children with Alicent.
- Can't wait to see what crime Daemon Targaryen will commit this week. ExplanationIn the same vein as Viserys being stressed out each episode, fans also take note of how Daemon Targaryen seems to commit worse and worse offenses or outright crime in each of his appearance so far.
- "Because he has a dragon that squeaks like a dolphin."ExplanationWith Caraxes being an Ensemble Dark Horse adored by fans, Daemon supporters have come to make jokes about how they'll justify and excuse any of his crimes and atrocities as long as he rides their favorite dragon.
- The Crime Hoodie ExplanationMuch to the amusement of fans, Daemon tends to wear the same hooded cloak whenever he has to hide his identity or do something illegal (which is to say, a lot). Amusingly, even Aemond and Rhaenys get in on it during "The Green Council"—where Aemond and Criston seeks out Aegon II for his coronation as part of the coup, and Rhaenys also wears one before retrieving Meleys and crashes the coronation, killing at least scores of people in the process.
- Aegon masturbating off of a window caused many jokes about how it was the same window where Tommen killed himself, how the windows of the Red Keep are a treasure trove for dead kids, and more "King's Landing" puns.
- Aegon's resemblance to Mike Wheeler has led to people jokingly claiming that he's played by Finn Wolfhard wearing a wig. Similarily, Jacaerys and Lucerys' curly brown hair and matching outfits have gained comparisons to Chas' kids in The Royal Tenenbaums.
- Aegon's adult actor looking nothing like his teenage one has also spawned a fair share of memes, joking that Aegon "didn't age well" or that he is a shapeshifter like Arya.
- The seed is Strong. Explanation"The seed is strong" is what Jon Arryn said about Cersei's 3 kids of falsified paternity. Lowercase-strong, as an adjective. Rhaenyra likewise has 3 kids of falsified paternity, and this time the seed is uppercase-Strong as a proper noun.
- Everybody Loves Aemond.ExplanationAn ironic pun to the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, given that everyone in the family hates Aemond.
- Death by "childbirth"Explanation (Spoilers)Laena Velaryon's death in the books was "death by childbirth", along with one final failed attempt to ride Vhagar. In the show, she commands Vhagar to incinerate her, having fans upset at the Suicide by Cop and "torture porn" aspect of her demise instead of giving her a dignified end.
- "A baby boy!"ExplanationFans have come to adore Vermax, the first baby dragon in the show. Roughly the size of season 4 Drogon and with a goofy-looking, big-eyed, gecko-like face, many viewers have found him rather endearing, in spite of his ferocity and ability to roast a live goat with a single blast of fire.
- HOG RIDAAAAExplanationAemond's lack of a dragon mount is mocked by Aegon, Jacerys and Lucerys by presenting him with a pig with fake wings stuck to it, which they snidely name "The Pink Dread". Jokes comparing Aemond with the Hog Rider, a very memetic character from Clash of Clans, were expected..
- The Pink Dread has since become a bit of a Memetic Badass in the fandom, with fans joking that the Pink Dread is more powerful than any dragon or will transform into a dragon-pig, with some joking the Pink Dread is the rightful heir to the throne.
- RIP Pink Dread.ExplanationThe book artwork where Alicent and Rhaenyra dine side by side but far apart features a roasted pig, which many fans lament was the fate of the Pink Dread. The roast pig is absent in the scene (though another one is served next to Aemond), however, leading some to joke that the Pink Dread was Spared by the Adaptation.
- The Pink Dread appears as a figurine one of Viserys' miniature sets, prompting fans to call out the old king for joining in on Aemond's bullying, or make jokes calling the Pink Dread "The Pig that was Promised".
- Dreamfyre's brief appearance making her look just like Drogon and his brothers from the original series has inspired many memes of "family resemblance" and jokingly portraying her and Daenerys as having a parental rivalry if the theory she is Drogon's biological parent is true.
- "Vhagars can't be choosers".Explanation (spoilers)Vhagar is forced by Laena to end her life via Suicide by Cop after she is unable to give birth and is bleeding to death from internal trauma, choosing to die a dragonrider's death. Vhagar is clearly hesitant, but Laena insists, resulting in the meme as a pun on "beggars can't be choosers".
- "Aww, Vhagar and Caraxes are just playing together"Explanation (Spoilers) Episode 6 has Laena and Daemon racing playfully through the skies on Vhagar and Caraxes: a bittersweet moment to fans who have read the books, as in the end, with Aemond as Vhagar's new rider, the same two dragons mutually end up killing each other in battle.
- Aemond losing an eye but gaining a dragon has fueled jokes about "Stonks"(a meme poking fun at unfair trade-offs or poor financial decisions) or joking that by losing an eye he now has impaired depth perception and is going to be very bad at driving.
- "Just kids being kids."ExplanationAemond, Luce and Jace get into a fight that culminates in Aemond trying to smash in Jace's head with a large rock and Luce subsequently blinding him in the left eye. The very blatant Troubling Unchildlike Behavior has drawn ironic humor about how "it's just how Westeros kids act."
- Daemon banging at the funeral.ExplanationDaemon has sex with Rhaenyra at his own wife's funeral. This has been considered by many fans as even more disrespectful to Laena than Aemond claiming Vhagar.
- Rhaenyra plotting to fake Laenor's death got a lot of concerned reactions from fans, as it seems less that she convinced him to fake his death and more like she actually fully intended to kill her husband.
- Predictably, with the memetic flanderization of Vhagar as a senile old grandmother, jokes abounded of her accepting Aemond because she mistook him for Visenya.
- The poor lighting of the scene, comparable with the Dance of the Dragons in Game of Thrones Season 8, had fans humorously suggesting that it was too dark for Vhagar to see who was riding her.
- Larys is frequently depicted as asking Alicent to kill someone or do something equally reprehensible when she even so much as breathes in his direction.
- Harwin Strong is Anakin SkywalkerExplanationHarwin is a respected warrior and leader of a gendarmerie force who falls for a royal woman far above his league, secretly has children with her, one of which is named Luke, trusts and cares for an older figure who is secretly an evil chessmasster trying to rise to power, and gets set on fire. Sound familiar?
- Team Blacks vs. Team GreensExplanationThe impending civil war among the Dragonriders is split between Rhaenyra supporters (the Blacks) and Alicent supporters (the Greens). The fandom has since been divided over the team they support, much like sports fans rooting for opposite teams.
- Team Nobody.ExplanationSome fans want to root for neither team, as the Blacks, while rightful rulers, are tyrannical and violent, especially Daemon also being a loose cannon with many unsympathetic deeds, and the Greens, while having some sympathetic traits, are also usurpers with many questionable moments such as Aegon's rape of a female servant. Some fans see this as an Evil vs. Evil scenario and just want to see everyone die. Some fans also enjoy watching all the arguing and fandom inifighting but have no desire in participating in it themselves.
- Team Dragons.ExplanationAnother camp simply sympathizes with the dragons, who are merely innocent animals being exploited by both sides of the war and are shown to get along with each other quite nicely but will be forced to kill each other in battle.
- On a similar note, the team colors are often jokingly compared by "Team Nobody's" to the colors of biodegradable and non-biodegradable trash cans, as both houses are "garbage people".
- Blackcels and Greenchads.ExplanationTwo common nicknames used by Green supporters to refer to each side.
- Greencel ExplanationThe mocking name used for Green supporters by Black supporters
- Comparing the arguments between Team Black and Team Green to the infamous Team Edward vs. Team Jacob Twilight shipping wars has become a common way for Team Nobody to mock both sides.
- Marxist feminist Aemond ExplanationContrasted with some fans' serious view of the black faction being the more progressive side, Aemond's actions get ironically interpreted, through use of Exact Words, as carrying out a progressive anti-feudal, pro-smallfolk, pro-feminist agenda.
- Aemond the Passive-Aggressive KingExplanationDuring the toast, Aemond "praises" his cousins as Strong boys, which is actually a Double Entendre mocking them as bastards born of Harwin Strong. Helaena seemingly not getting the pun and applauding Aemond for his speech was the cherry on top.
- Corpse husband Viserys. ExplanationViserys being absolutely decrepit by Episode 8, basically rotted alive, has fans joking about his physical state by the end of the season. Memes compare him variously to a White Walker, the Crypt Keeper, Gollum, the heads in jars from Futurama, Gus Fring after getting his face blown off, or to Prince Philip, who infamously was known for looking almost corpse-like even when alive in his later years.
- LET THE GOOD GIRL HAVE A TREAT!Explanation (spoilers)In the books, Vaemond Velaryon is fed to Syrax for daring to question the parentage of Rhaenyra's children and calling them "bastards". In the show, however, he is merely beheaded by Daemon, leading to some fans protesting that Syrax "deserves a little Vaemond, as a treat."
- Vizzy T ExplanationThe sheer amount praise and affection Viserys (and by extension Paddy Considine for playing him) has achieved have led many online to grant him the somewhat-hilarious Affectionate Nickname 'Vizzy T.' This is similar to Robert Baratheon, a similarly-loved Game of Thrones king, being called "Bobby B."
- Vizzy T bot.ExplanationOn Reddit's r/freefolk and r/HouseOfTheDragon subreddits, an automatic mod response would post a random Viserys quote whenever the phrase "Vizzy T" was typed in. Fans quickly took advantage of it to its memetic extreme.
- (WHEEZES) (GROANS) (LABORED BREATHING)ExplanationOne of the Vizzy T bot's numerous responses. It was quickly memed due to its absurd and random nature, with fans applying the meme to Balerion as Viserys only rode him for a year before he died of old age.
- Vizzy T bot has become sentient.ExplanationThe Vizzy T bot sometimes makes very context-appropriate quotes that seem to actually understand a conversation, spawning jokes that the Vizzy T bot has gained sentience or is a person pretending to be a bot.
- "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!" ExplanationDaemon beheading Vaemond for insulting his wife drew comparisons to Will Smith slapping and heckling Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Oscars.
- Canadian Vaemond.Explanation (Spoilers)Vaemond Velaryon is killed by Daemon bisecting his head at the level of the mouth, leaving his jaw still attached to his body. Fans of South Park immediately compared this to the show's portrayal of Canadians, who are shown with the top half of their head floating.
- They're white.ExplanationA line said by Vaemond's actor Wil Johnson in a behind-the-scenes while explaining why Vaemond knows that Rhaenyra's sons are bastards. This naturally made the rounds on social media, especially among Team Green supporters, for the sheer bluntness of the remark.
- An extension of this meme is Vaemond asking Jace and Luke to say the N-word or having them answer "who was in Paris" as a way to prove that they're not Velaryons.
- That is a white child. That is an Andal from the mountains of Andalos. ExplanationHaving Vaemond quote a black character's tirade about a Chocolate Baby in School Dance (2014)
- You dropped this, king.ExplanationThe image of Daemon putting the crown on an ailing, dying Viserys on the throne has inspired comparisons to the "You dropped this, king" meme of people praising someone for being worthy of admiration.
- Caraxes, you naughty boy.ExplanationDaemon finds a clutch of dragon eggs inside Syrax's den, which he reacts to great joy at. Fans have joked that given Syrax and Caraxes' fanon couple status, with even the showrunners suggesting they may be a mated pair, fans have joked about the possibility of Caraxes being the father.
- Dance of the Dragons could have been avoided if the Targaryens are more creative when naming their kids.ExplanationA delirious King Viserys on his deathbed mistakes Alicent for Rhaenyra, and his last words to her are implied to be tragically misunderstood by Alicent (Viserys was talking about the Song of Ice and Fire and how Aegon's dream about the Prince That Was Promised is true, while Alicent most likely thought he’s actually talking about their son Aegon), which - when doubled with all the already high tension existing between family members - becomes the catalyst of a bloody civil war that will tear House Targaryen down. This has led to jokes about how all this bloodshed could’ve been avoided if the Targaryens are a bit more creative in coming up with their children’ names, as well as jokes about how Targaryen names are often very similar to each other with only minor deviations.
- A plot-changing misunderstanding due to two characters having loved ones with identical names drew comparison as well to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (where it's a plot point that both Batman and Superman have a mother named "Martha").
- Where is Daeron?ExplanationDaeron, Alicent's fourth child, is nowhere to be seen and is not even mentioned. Jokes soon abounded in the form of "missing person" posters, often with the "last seen" part being "as a streak of blood in the opening credits family tree", or in mockery of GOT Season 8, suggesting that "Alicent kinda forgot she had a fourth child".
- Daeron confirmed.ExplanationThe showrunners finally confirmed Daeron does exist in this continuity and has not been Adapted Out, having simply been in Oldtown and the producers simply not having had the time to give him focus. Fans rejoiced at the announcement.
- Daemondbowl confirmed. Get hype.ExplanationAfter Aemond causes a ruckus during the family dinner in S108, Daemon steps in to defuse the situation, and there’s a moment when it seems like the two men are sizing each other up, foreshadowing their eventual confrontation in the upcoming civil war. Fans quickly took to calling the inevitable showdown between the two characters Daemondbowl, following in the same vein as Cleganebowl and Bastardbowl in the main series.
- "A Negroni. Sbagliato. With prosecco in it." "Oh, stonnin'!"ExplanationA press tour snippet featuring Emma D'Arcy naming their favourite drink and Olivia Cooke responding approvingly went viral and turned the cocktail into a trend.
- Criston Cole sleeping.ExplanationA behind the scenes shot of Fabien Frankel taking a nap on set made rounds online for the goofy juxtaposition of Fabien's headphones and unflattering sleeping posture with the fact he's still in full armor.
- Larys Strong's foot fetish. Explanation The scene of a very reluctant Alicent showing her feet to Larys in exchange for information about the Red Keep's spy network - a scene that ends with him outright masturbating in front of her - has shocked/sickened/intrigued many fans, and led to an inevitable deluge of memes.
- Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Explanation Tarantino is infamous for his love of feet, so the seemingly-random scene in the middle of Episode 9 immediately drew comparisons to his work.
- Footgate. Explnation The fact that a foot fetish scene between Larys and Queen Alicent was leaked a few days before the episode aired and many people thought it to be false, comparing it to the pizzagate conspiracy theory. Needless to say many were surprised when the leaks were proven right and many jokes started.
- To be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Explanation A lot of fans have expressed ironic disappointment at not seeing how this "arrangement" came about, as well as genuinely wondering how exactly that conversation went.
- Incest>feet. Explanation Some fans have pointed out how the large majority of viewers were more shocked by a relatively tame foot fetish scene than the multiple types of incest that were shown previously. Even Olivia Cooke has commented on how shocked she was that the scene went viral, when there so many more immoral things that happened in the episode.
- OnlyFans. Explanation The aforementioned scene inevitably got compared to the site OnlyFans, which is famous for having a lot of foot fetish content, as well as fans joking that Alicent invented the website.
- Rhaenys the mass murderer. Explanation Princess Rhaenys' escape from King's Landing on Meleys, where she unflinchingly ploughs a gigantic dragon through a decent-sized crowd of innocent civilians who had been forced to be there, has not gone down particularly sympathetically with the audience. Especially since she very deliberately holds off on incinerating the entire Green Faction there and then (which may have averted the entire war), but the unfortunate peasants rate no such concern.
- Rhaenys kinda forgot Meleys can breathe fire.ExplanationFans are annoyed at Rhaenys going through the trouble making a mess at the Dragonpit and potentially killing lots of smallfolk, only to not torch Alicent and Aegon on the spot. The memes of GOT Season 8 began to run rampant, spawing references to the whole "Dany kinda forgot" excuse of the showrunners.
- The Beast under the Boards.ExplanationHelaena's psychic vision was warning them of a "beast under the boards", which turns out to be Meleys tunneling under the dragonpit. The vagueness of the statement has caused jokes about other, more absurd ideas of what said beast could be.
- Green dragons are on vacation.ExplanationThe Greens are under threat by Meleys, and yet their own dragons, Sunfyre, Dreamfyre and Vhagar, are nowhere to be seen to defend their riders. Vhagar is understandable, as she lives likely far away, the other two less likely, given the conflict happens at the dragonpit.
- Aegon is King Dragon.ExplanationAegon's crown is silver with a red gem, which had some fans comparing it to the "King Dragon" character by ProZD.
- "Choke me harder, daddy" Explanation (spoilers)At one point in the Season 1 finale Daemon chokes Rhaenyra, leading to jokes about Daemon fans who brush this incident off having a BDSM kink.
- Don't make me get my Divorce Rock.ExplanationSimilar to the Crime Hoodie meme, the rock Daemon used to kill his wife Rhea Royce was dubbed the Divorce Rock.
- Where is Sunfyre?ExplanationDespite being proclaimed as the "most beautiful of dragons" and having Aegon, a major character, as a rider, Sunfyre has only appeared once and in a background scene at that, during the Driftmark funeral. Fans have thus questioned his whereabouts, such as defending Aegon from Meleys when Rhaenys gatecrashes his coronation.
- They had to remove most of Sunfyre's scenes due to his actor's scandals.ExplanationA deleted scene reveals they were supposed to show Aegon flying on Sunfyre, but it was scrapped. With many celebrities such as Ezra Miller getting "cancelled" for scandals, fans have jokingly suggested that the dragon playing Sunfyre (as if he was an actual actor) was getting arrested for some scandal and HBO was removing his involvement.
- Aemond the (Accidental) KinslayerExplanation (spoilers)The finale Episode 10 has the climatic battle between Aemond and Lucerys astride their dragons Vhagar and Arrax, which ends with both dragons disobeying their riders that leads to Vhagar devouring both Lucerys and Arrax, setting in motion the Dance of the Dragons. Many fans were unhappy with the portrayal of Aemond in a more sympathetic light, calling him the "accidental kinslayer" and mocking the showrunners for allegedly pandering to the Green fanbase.
- The fandom has poked fun at the idea of other major events also being "accidents", such as joking that the burning of King's Landing in season 8 was all Drogon's fault and Dany just lost control, or that Joffrey was pleading for the executioner to not behead Ned Stark. This includes jokes about how future events from the Dance in the books will be portrayed in the show as increasingly convoluted accidents, i.e. a senile Vhagar burning the Riverlands after mistaking it for Dorne, or Daemon falling off his dragon onto Aemond sword-first.
- "Vhagar just wants to relive her days as a war criminal."
- "Mmmm, he has a rather Strong flavor."Explanation (spoilers)Vhagar eats Lucerys, who was earlier mocked by Aemond as a "Strong" bastard.
- "You damn kids get off my LAWN!"Explanation (spoilers)Vhagar attacking and killing Arrax, a young adolescent dragon, drew jokes about the "senile old grandma Vhagar" meme, portraying her as a cranky old lady who despises children.
- "Ok boomer" Explanation (spoilers)The memetic "famous last words" of Arrax as he decided to pick on a dragon ten times his size, based on the meme of young teens dismissively disparaging older people and whatever they have to say.
- LEEROY JENKINSExplanationArrax disobeys his rider and attacks Vhagar, a dragon ten times his size, which very quickly ends badly for him. Fans were quick to jump on the Leeroy Jenkins meme poking fun at Arrax's recklessness.
- Arrax, the chihuahua of dragons.ExplanationArrax picking on a dragon ten times his size has been compared to the disproportionate aggression of chihuahuas, which are known to pick on dogs bigger than themselves.
- "I just want his eye!" "You want him to die?"/"No, Vhagar, no!" "Go, Vhagar, go?"Explanation (spoilers)The "senile grandma Vhagar" meme suggests that Vhagar's disobedience and subsequent killing of Lucerys and Arrax was simply due to her being hard of hearing.
- "We did it, Visenya! We beat the Dornish!" ExplanationAlso tying into the "Senile Vhagar" meme by suggesting that she still believes she's fighting in Aegon's attempted conquest of Dorne and is happy at her "victory". Especially since the Dornish Phenotype Stereotype, like the Velaryon princes, is dark-haired.
- "And then there's Chunky! He's dead."ExplanationAlteori's review of the season finale had her jokingly nicknaming Arrax "Chunky" due to his thick proportions. Given his fate, it soon drew joking comparisons to Brentalfloss's parody of the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64.
- Vermithor likes jazz.ExplanationDaemon sings to Vermithor the Bronze Fury on Dragonstone in an attempt to re-accustom him to human contact. Fans soon began joking about Vermithor's preferred genre of music.
- "Soft Vermithor, warm Vermithor, giant ball of fire..."ExplanationThe soothing lullaby Daemon sings drew comparisons to Penny's "Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty" song from The Big Bang Theory.
- I WANT IT THAT WAAAAY!ExplanationThe Backstreet Boys song first got turned into a memetic inappropriate Call-and-Response Song by Brooklyn Nine-Nine, here it's applied to Daemon singing the lyrics and Vermithor finishing the song.
- "You're singing to other dragons?"ExplanationDaemon sings a Valyrian lullaby to Vermithor to wake him up, prompting jokes portraying Caraxes as a jealous boyfriend angry that Daemon is seeing someone else and lamenting "I thought we had something special!"
- “The idea that we control dragons is an illus—“ “Please just shut the fuck up.” ExplanationWhat happened in the climax of S1E10 when Lucerys and Aemond lost control of their dragons, which led to disastrous consequences, prompted many fans to repeat King Viserys I’s line to Rhaenyra about how dragons can’t really be controlled all the way back in the first episode on various comment sections. It gets to the point where several other commenters have grown tired of seeing people bringing up Viserys’s line again and again as if the point isn’t hammered enough already.
- "Tis I, the younger brother, who studies history and philosophy. It is I who trains with the sword, who rides the largest dragon in the world..." ExplanationAemond's justification for why he should be king over Aegon, a line which many found hilariously pretentious, comparing it to the "I studied the blade" meme.
- House of the OgreExplanationThe similarities the series has with Shrek has not gone unnoticed by fans, such as a dragon breaking into a royal ceremony, a dinner party between hostile family members, and Fiona's red hair and green dress resembling Alicent's attire.
- Fancasting Henry Cavill as the entire GOT/HOTD character roster Explanation Given how well received Cavill's performance as Geralt of Rivia has been (and especially given the news that he is leaving after season 3), fans have been thinking of roles for him to play seemingly non-stop, from the serious (young Robert Baratheon, Maegor the Cruel) to the unlikely (Aegon the Conqueror), to the hilariously ridiculous (Mushroom the fool, Balerion the Black Dread).
- "Henry Cavill as -" "Please just shut the fuck up." Explanation And similarly to Viserys' dragon-control-illusion line that has been spammed repeatedly, plenty of people are getting plenty sick of Cavill getting fancasted as everyone and everything.
- Jace's virgin walk.ExplanationA still of Jacerys walking in a slumped, slouched posture has been widely memed due to his resemblance to the "Virgin" in the Virgin vs. Chad meme, often joking about the Virgin Strong walk vs. the Chad Targaryen stride. Even Harry Collett has joked about it on social media.
- Aemond says hmmmmm.ExplanationA recurring verbal tic of Aemond, often memetically treated as an actual quote or compared to the Chamberlain Skeksis of the The Dark Crystal.
- Visenya the dragonbaby.ExplanationRhaenyra's stillborn baby daughter Visenya is born deformed, covered in scales like a dragon. This is a recurring curse in the Targaryen family in the books, blamed as a side effect of the magic that made them "one with the dragon"...but of course, the fandom very quickly turned it into jokes implying that Rhaenyra had an affair with Caraxes.
- And she gets to be queen? What a sick joke! ExplanationChanging the "Chicanery" rant from Better Call Saul to people (usually Alicent) making accusations about Rhaenyra
- Blood and Cheese casting.Explanation (spoilers)Rampant facetious speculation about who's playing an infamous pair of characters from the source material "scheduled" to appear in the second season as assassins sent to retaliate for Lucerys's death.
- Homophobic Otto Explanation Otto's dig at Alicent in episode 9 when she claims Viserys would've wanted Rhaenyra spared ("Your husband? Or you, his daughter's childhood companion?") has been read by fans as having homophobic undertones, due to Otto's general disapproval of Alicent and Rhaenyra's homoerotic-toned friendship. It soon evolved into comparisons to the Homophobic Dog meme.