House Of The Dragon (HBO, spoilers)

[shadow puppet]

I loved it and found episode 2 to be even stronger than the premiere.

Queen of the episode!

A lot of folks are whining that they used the same GOT theme score but I think it was a brilliant choice. It ties the thread of the two shows together but the visual credits are unique to HOTD. For anyone lost following the opening credits, there's a great breakdown Twitter thread to read.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1564055481865289728/

 

[DT]

I loved it and found episode 2 to be even stronger than the premiere.

Queen of the episode!

A lot of folks are whining that they used the same GOT theme score but I think it was a brilliant choice. It ties the thread of the two shows together but the visual credits are unique to HOTD. For anyone lost following the opening credits, there's a great breakdown Twitter thread to read.

Hahaha, I'm glad she caught that egg, when he tossed it over, I was like "DAEMON, DUDE?!?!" (I assume dragon eggs are very resilient ...)

Oh, I loved the theme being reused and I really liked the little theme-ish cues throughout the episode.

This is sort of spoiler-ish, I don't have any knowledge outside of what's been shown on HBO, but this was the "This season on House of the Dragon ..." preview and I know some people avoid those.

Spoiler

So apparently around the 1/2 way point this season, the 4 main child actors will be replaced with older/adult actors, when and the storyline will jump forward by 10 years.

Below is a list of the characters and actors we currently know about who will swap into adult versions later in the show:

• Rhaenyra is played by Milly Alcock when she's 14 years old, and by Emma D'Arcy in her late 20s
• Alicent is played by Emily Carey when she's 14 years old, and by Olivia Cooke in her late 20s
• Laena is played by Nova Fouellis-Mose when she's 12 years old, and by Nanna Blondell in her early 20s
• Laenor is played by Theo Tate when he's 12 years old, and by John Macmillan in his early 20s

 

[shadow puppet]

Yeah, your spoiler has me a bit bummed. But I'm trying to be open to it.

 

[DT]

Yeah, your spoiler has me a bit bummed. But I'm trying to be open to it.

Right? I can't believe the dragons wind up being aliens ...

 

[Eric]

Yeah, your spoiler has me a bit bummed. But I'm trying to be open to it.

Yeah, had no idea.

Spoiler

Like The Crown only switching it up mid-season. We must be about ready to blast through some timelines here.

 

[Roller]

Cross quoting myself (from the general TV thread ...)





So we rewatched EP01, and I liked it a little more, EP02 was - per a few review sites - a little "talky", but setup a few interesting plot points, the dragon standoff was fun, Rhaenyra and Daemon continue to be a fun pairing, the Crab Feeder thing was deliciously disgusting.

But wow, while we know the GOT universe involves marriages to very young girls, hahaha, yikes, EP02 was an 11 on the creepy scale

My original assessment stands: I think they'll need to open up the world a bit more, we need a little more levity, and I'm not sure how many seasons this can stay reasonably compelling.

I liked EP02 even more than EP01. While I agree there was a lot of talking, I believe it was necessary to show how the characters relate to one another personally and understand how that guides their behavior. Rhaenyra was even more compelling in this episode, especially the way she defied her father. I also like the way the writers are willing to jump the timeline to advance the story, which was clear from the preview of next week's episode. I don't think GoT did that much — while events from the past were sometimes shown or discussed, the main story line spanned about seven years according to https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline.

I agree about levity, which is needed as an occasional counterpoint to the misery and violence. It's unclear which character(s) will provide it.

 

[DT]

I agree about levity, which is needed as an occasional counterpoint to the misery and violence. It's unclear which character(s) will provide it.

I actually LOL'ed at Daemon during that one brothel scene where he was, ummm, "ineffective"

 

[Eric]

I agree about levity, which is needed as an occasional counterpoint to the misery and violence. It's unclear which character(s) will provide it.

Agreed, where's our Samwell Tarly?

 

[Huntn]

Cross quoting myself (from the general TV thread ...)





So we rewatched EP01, and I liked it a little more, EP02 was - per a few review sites - a little "talky", but setup a few interesting plot points, the dragon standoff was fun, Rhaenyra and Daemon continue to be a fun pairing, the Crab Feeder thing was deliciously disgusting.

But wow, while we know the GOT universe involves marriages to very young girls, hahaha, yikes, EP02 was an 11 on the creepy scale

My original assessment stands: I think they'll need to open up the world a bit more, we need a little more levity, and I'm not sure how many seasons this can stay reasonably compelling.

Puberty was the measure of adulthood in human history when people died at 40.

 

[Roller]

Puberty was the measure of adulthood in human history when people died at 40.

Sadly, in some places, it still is.

 

[Edd]

I agree the 2nd ep was a solid step up. I really liked the confrontation on the bridge.

 

[Huntn]

S1E2- Yes, I liked the confrontation on the bridge, the daughter of the King has the ability to judge and can take decisive action, despite being dismissed daily by the men surrounding th King and Queen Who Never Was.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I just wanted to comment on the comparable series being aired on Amazon, which shall not be named in this thread.

I'm glad I'm not a big fanboy of the literary inspirations for either of these shows. Sounds like it's a big bummerfest when you're consumed by the translation from page to screen, be it direct translation or story and world expansion translation.

I like both shows for different reasons. I think both seem to be competing for most character and/or race tension. IMO House of the Dragon does it better. The other show, which shall not be named here, does fantasy races or animals better. In that regard it's a bit easier to keep up with some character alliances or enemies because visually its easier to tell the difference.

Anyhow, the battle scene at the end of this week's HotD was epic, but I pretty much take issue with any situation where a months or years long quagmire between armies is put to an end by one psychopath with dysfunctional family issues.

 

[DT]

In that regard it's a bit easier to keep up with some character alliances or enemies because visually its easier to tell the difference.

Yeah, it gets confusing when everyone has white hair and is named V <something-something> ...

Hahaha, yes, the Matt Smith / Daemon speed run was fantastic. He ended that plotline pretty handily

Dragon == Bunny in Monty Python ... RUN AWAY!!

 

[DT]

And I know it was a touch heavy handed, but the King's hunt, his inability to execute, the White Hart / Rhaenyra encounter, that was all pretty beautiful fantasy material.

 

[Huntn]

Finally watched Episode 4, I was very satisfied with this chapter, the seeds have been planted , things are heating up significantly. Daemon and The Hand are both revealed, and at end of the episode when Rhaenyra is offered a special tea, I could see the wheels turning in her head.

 

[Edd]

You can see why they did several time jumps. So far, so good.

 

[Edd]

Last night’s episode was great!

edit: The names, though. It’s killing me, I’m struggling to keep track of the characters.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

So I think they’ve beaten the parentage and incest story arks into the dirt. It’s getting a little claustrophobic in the storytelling and I hope they start expanding more.

 

[shadow puppet]

I really enjoyed the episode. The Laenor bait and switch was a relief but I hate that Aemond ends up with Vhagar rather than one of Laena's daughters. The parentage/incest is who the Targaryans are so it doesn't bother me.