The book this show pulls from is essentially a fictional textbook, so it's not like this incident is a huge piece of the narrative necessarily. IIRC, the book basically just says the child was stillborn and horrifically deformed (a harbinger of the consequences of Targaryen incest).
Vhagar is the largest known living dragon. She was one of the three primary dragons of Aegon's conquest. Balerion was ridden by Aegon, and he was the largest. Viserys was his last rider before he died. Vhagar was ridden by Visenya (Aegon's sister and wife). She was smaller than Meraxes who was ridden by Rahenys (Aegon's siter and wife). Meraxes was killed by Dorne. Vhagar is connected to Old Valyria. Arrax was placed in the crib of Lucerys and hatched when he was a baby. They are essentially the same age. I know it's much maligned, but I loved the choice the show made to have the dragon's acting on their own. Both Luke and Aemond are wielding power that they don't understand - Luke due to youth and inexperience and Aemond due to his own hubris. Viserys alludes to the power of the dragons being largely illusory. They think they control them, but that's just not entirely true. Excited to see how they flesh that out going forward.
I agree on the first bit about Barros.
Did you notice Daemon said the Greens have 3 adult dragons, but then says we have 13 to their 4. Leaving open the possibility of Daeron coming in next season with a juvenile dragon. Its some shitty story telling to say oh and here is Viserys and Alicent's other son that you have never seen or spoken of that thas been living with his great uncle.
He's also trying to prove he should be king, and he screwed up what he was asked to do. That and he seems genuinely loyal to his immediate family who he put in harms way.
This is clearly the case. The show runners have said as much multiple times.
Still shitty story telling. I dont think the show runners talking about it outside of the show changes the impact of just adding another son next season.
I don't disagree. I still don't think I would have wanted more than a throw away exposition line on the subject added to this season though.
Apparently that final scene was much more deliberate by Aemond and gruesome in the books. In the books he clearly wants to kill Luke and even goes and finds his body and removes his eyes to give to his new bride.
It's also important to remember that the book isn't a direct first person account. The showrunners have taken some liberties because the source material is similar to biblical writing where the accounts are written years after the event. The most direct first hand source is mushroom who is likely unreliable.