House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon, based on George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood

Meh. Prequels aren't very interesting in general, and one set in a period which has had a fair amount of knowledge like this even less. The cancelled prequel series set thousands of years before would have at least explored an era which little was known about aside from myths and legends.

Episode one dropped last night. I have to say it is looking quite promising. The fact that the book the series is based on is already a complete story is a good thing and means we are less likely to end up with something like Game of Throne's seasons 5-8. I look forward to watching the rest of the series.

I'm with Joel. I'd much rather see a show set 1000 before the actual kingdoms instead of just 300 years ago. Also maybe then we'd get some denizens of Leng too.

I wasn’t sure I was going to watch this, not really having much interest in it. Then I saw a post on FB from one of the old Paizo Fawtly folk, recommending it. Since I didn’t have much else to watch, I gave it a try.

I thought it was interesting. Story seemed pretty straightforward, and the casting was solid. I never read the specific material this was based on, so I didn’t really have any expectations. I’ll probably keep on with it.

Saw episode 1 last night, and it was well done (not unexpected) but it crammed a LOT of backstory into an oversized episode. And along the way there wasn't that much truly interesting in itself. Definitely worse than episode 1 of Game of Thrones, which have more interesting scenes, characters, and interactions, not to mention kicked off the plot pretty strongly (or pushed the plot into motion, technically).

Matt Smith's character was pretty much the only one who was interesting so far on his own.

I expect things will become more interesting, but definitely would have wished this was cut into 2 episodes, and showed some more interesting stuff in each rather than being 98% devoted to exposition dump.

Second episode was….adequate. I thought a good portion of it was pretty boring. It finally got exciting when Daemon made his reappearance and stole that dragon egg. That showdown was pretty cool. Though it would have been better to see the dragons going at each other. The king was an idiot for refusing to marry the daughter of Corlys, but I think I like it better now that it looks like Corlys and Daemon are going to team up. They’re my two favorite characters so far.

[...] not to mention kicked off the plot pretty strongly (or pushed the plot into motion, technically).

Episode one of Hot D had this also - Daemon being rejected as the heir quite obviously is the setup for the entire show. We're going to have a Targaryen civil war.

The newest episode had some great action. The fighting against the Crabfeeder was pretty awesome. Especially that last battle. Daemon is pretty badass.

I liked some of the politicking going on at the hunt. The fight with the boar was cool. Overall, I’m enjoying this show.

We are enjoying it so far.

I liked episode 3 the least. I'm fine with occasional time jumps, but we've had 1 with every episode. Not a ringing endorsement to the series that nothing interesting happens in more than 6 months or 3 years.

As for the actual content, I thought the entire crabfeeder stepping stones war was silly and dumb. How on Westeros did they hold off a navy from the Sea Snake, with infantry marines, and a dragon for invulnerable air support? "They keep retreating into the caves" makes no sense. They are pirates and a threat to shipping lanes. Even if you do contain them in the caves, that eliminates their offensive capabilities, shipping is safe, and they can't mount much offense against the attackers. Yet, by this episode, after 3 years, somehow Daemon and the Sea Snake were in dire straights and needed aid?

How did the Crabfeeder's forces even survive if they couldn't go outside their caves without being burned in dragonfire? I'd think a traditional starve them out siege would work pretty well. Finally, if you accept all of that somehow, the plan to lure them out by sending 1 person there to make them all come out of their defensive caves to fight (and be ambushed, which I'm sure the pirates would have never thought of) is ridiculous. The actual fight strained by suspension of disbelief as well - especially in a grim gritty world of Game of Thrones, having 1 guy on foot evade 3 or 4 flights of arrows somehow, then finally get hit by a few arrows, and pretty much shrug them off like they were mosquito bites - I didn't buy it. Was a bad 80s action hero scene at best. Also, Crabfeeder deciding to send a half dozen mooks at him at a time doesn't reinforce that he's some brilliant tactician who could hold off the forces against him in the first place.

I'm fine with time jumps - sometimes there is a period of narrative calm between the important bits - but the Stepstones stuff was dumb.

Not much action last night, but a lot of intrigue. I’m not sure why the princess didn’t sneak back in the way she snuck out. I’m wondering who the new Hand of the King will be, now that Otto has been given the boot for his scheming.

And another time jump, this time a year.

I'm fine with occasional time jumps, but we've had 1 with every episode. Not a ringing endorsement to the series that nothing interesting happens in more than 6 months or 3 years.

That's true of history. Sometimes nothing much interesting happens for 30 years and suddenly a ton of stuff happens in six months, or something happens and then it takes another 18 months for the next development to happen. Most shows are grossly unrealistic in how contained everything it is, so it's refreshing when a show takes the same path as reality.

As for the actual content, I thought the entire crabfeeder stepping stones war was silly and dumb. How on Westeros did they hold off a navy from the Sea Snake, with infantry marines, and a dragon for invulnerable air support? "They keep retreating into the caves" makes no sense. They are pirates and a threat to shipping lanes. Even if you do contain them in the caves, that eliminates their offensive capabilities, shipping is safe, and they can't mount much offense against the attackers. Yet, by this episode, after 3 years, somehow Daemon and the Sea Snake were in dire straights and needed aid?

The war would be dumb if it was being waged by the entire Seven Kingdoms, but it's not. House Velaryon is relatively rich and powerful but ships are insanely expensive and mercenaries are incredibly expensive, especially when the Free Cities have bought them off not to fight for you. So the Sea Snake is using the soldiers directly sworn to him - whittled down to less than a thousand over the course of three years - with no prospect of reinforcement. They're running into a problem of whack-a-mole, namely they sort out one island and the enemy arises on another, and after dealing with that island, another goes rogue.

The Crabfeeder is also being kept afloat (so to speak) by the economic power of three of Free Cities, Myr, Lys and Tyrosh, which have ships and men to spare and the means to acquire more. In this war, Corlys and Daemon are simply outnumbered and out-resourced.

My take on the tunnels is that they are numerous and extensive, maybe even linking different islands together, and the Sea Snake can't watch every tunnel entrance and keep a field army together simultaneously, so they can't keep them bottled up. They had to present a tempting enough target to lure the Crabfeeder onto the field directly.

Well, that was a hell of a way to end a feast and start a marriage. Two murders, plenty of court intrigue, and some battle lines clearly being drawn.

I’m not familiar with the dude playing the king, but I’m really liking his performance.

And it seems next week we finally get the big time jump, where most of the younger folk get replaced by older actors.

LARPing in Westeros is boring.

So this guy talks to that guy and then there's a fight..... ?

No idea whats going on

If you're ever unsure of what's going on in the series, check out the YouTube channel of Alt Shift X. He does an excellent job of breaking down each episode, with comparisons to the book but without spoilers past each episode.

But you shouldn't have to. It's kind of a failing if you have to consult outside to figure stuff out.

I won’t speak for anyone else, but sometimes I feel compelled to look stuff up. Usually it’s because I’m not familiar with the source material (such is the case with this show), and I find it useful to confirm which character is which. It doesn’t help that I sometimes find it hard to hear what’s being said (I blame my noisy children).

Closed Captions work for that

Yeah, I may have to suck it up one day and start doing that. For now, the “I want to still think I’m not THAT old” frame of mind will win out.

I live in the landing path of one of the largest navy airbases for the F-18. Squadrons have to do touchdown drills at the beginning and end of the month. All sorts of different times. Sometimes Age doesn't have anything at to do with it. F-18s or noisy kids.

Poor dragon

"Look, if you'd just laid eggs like a sensible species this wouldn't be a problem. "

I like how the old dragon trainer had a lot of scar and claw marks. Not a job for people that need to retire with all their limbs....

Are we supposed to dislike pretty much every character now? Other than the really young kids, at least.

Check that, I think the only one I kind of liked, and felt sorry for, was Daemon’s wife. The one who decided to go out on her own terms, with the help of a little dragon fire. All the rest of them seem be horrible human beings. Maybe not all the time, but enough. Especially that dude with the cane, who apparently ended his own father and brother.

Still, I think they handled the time jump as well as they could. I look forward to seeing many more horrible deaths.

I think they could have simply started the show with this episode, and explained a few things in either flashbacks, or better yet, dialogue.

The dude with the cane seems mean for no reason the audience knows. I hope they at least give some indication why he's a jackass and hated his family. The whole, cut the tongue's of the assassins out doesn't make a lot of sense - since the only sure way to make sure they don't tell tales is to have them immediately killed.

The most sympathetic character is probably the king, who's flawed and weak, but actually trying to do things for the good of the realm and family, just doesn't know that there's a time to use the power of being the king to take decisive action.

I do wonder though why the princess hasn't gotten her kids a better swordmaster to teach them, since obviously he ex hates her and is doing a crap job of it.

And with this episode even Daemon being the only entertaining character ended, with him pretty much checking out and wanting to live a life of luxury. Though I suspect that will change with his wife's passing.

I’m not familiar with the dude playing the king, but I’m really liking his performance.

Paddy Considine, one of our very best actors for the last 20 years. Probably best-known internationally for being one of the two Andys in HOT FUZZ. Most of his film work has been in independent and arthouse cinema with very occasional forays into bigger fare (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM). He's also been in PEAKY BLINDERS and THE OUTSIDER.

Yeah, gotta say I agree with some other folk…..

The current king is probably one of the only people who deserves any sympathy and is anywhere close to being a good person. Everyone else comes across as power-hungry douchebags. Although I did kind of feel sorry for the kid that lost an eye, but I’ve got a feeling he’s going to turn out to be an a-hole (and not the good kind).

Still, the story is crazy awesome. There are a few people I actually want to see dead: Ser Cole, the dude with the cane, the princess and the queen, Aegon the drunkard. Probably a few others.

Damn! That was a pretty good episode.

I think next episode is the season finale. I look forward to seeing everything finally coming to a head.

No, that was episode 8 and there will be 10 episodes this season. And yes, it was a great episode.

With Viserys dead, I wasn’t sure I’d have anyone to root for in the show. That changed when….

Otherwise, all the political intrigue and running around was pretty cool. Looking forward to the finale.

A few other notes….

Despite Rhaenys being one of my new favorites…

I like how they handled Aemond in this episode. They gave us some insight into his relationship with his brother, and into his own ambitions and desires. At the same time, they showed a bit of a vulnerable youth side to him in that one scene. He’s another one that I kind of like, mostly for the actor’s performance.

One last note - I’ve heard say that Martin would have preferred a higher episode count per season. And after watching this episode, I can kind of see that.

On the one hand, they spent most of the season slowly building up to the death of Viserys. Now that it happened, this episode seemed a little rushed in spots. Like some things were being glossed over. I can kind of see it, though, if they wanted to convey a sense of chaos and uncertainty.

Regarding Rhaenys’ slaughter of (possibly) hundreds of King’s Landing civilians, one executive producer said “It’s Game of Thrones — civilians don’t count!”

She's proper royalty, after all.

So was that a declaration of war, stopping by to let him know he may be king but she'll always be more badass.. or what? I mean she could have just had him eaten and plopped down on the throne.

I mean, what do you say to the lady riding the giant fire breathing dragon that wants to be queen?

"YES YOUR MAJESTY"

I think she spared them because of Alicent. She might easily have killed everyone there otherwise. She may very well have felt she should be queen and is still bitter over that, but she's also savvy enough to know that adding a third contender at this stage will not make things any better for her. Methinks this is her way of saying "I'm not getting involved in your upcoming squabble with Rhaenyra, but leave me and mine alone". And maybe she can pick up the crown once little brats have killed eachother.

I just saw it as dais-sized plot armor.

There's also the fact that if she had cooked them in that circumstance she might have been considered a kinslayer.

There's also the fact that if she had cooked them in that circumstance she might have been considered a kinslayer.

What do you say to the kinslayer on the giant fire breathing dragon?

"YES YOUR MAJESTY"

Damn, that’s a big dragon.

Great season finale.

That birthing scene was brutal.

I think my three favorite scenes were Rhaenyra’s crowning, the discussion between Daemon and Rhaenyra, and the discussion between Corlys and Rhaenys. All three were well written and well acted.

I knew that end was coming, but damn, that was a really well done part up in the clouds like that.

So now it’s war. I look forward to next season.

Excellent first season. The best season of the franchise (and probably fantasy television in general) since at least Season 4 of OG GoT.

It did wobble a few times with "braindead rule of cool spectacle" moments of the kind that wrecked the last two seasons of GoT, but it never completely gave into them, and I hope they keep that in check going forwards.

I also appreciated them trying mightily to give some nuance to the two sides. The source material does overwhelmingly say, "Yes, the greens have a few good points but they're also total a+#!%!#~s whilst Rhaenyra does a few dodgy things but she's basically in the right," whilst here they at least trying to push the bad things Rhaenyra does and the actual good motivations Alicent has. That culminates in Aemond not setting out to kill anyone but losing control of his dragon and going further than he really wanted to and committing both sides to all-out conflict. I think the show is still favouring Team Rhaenyra but at least trying to make it a bit more less obvious (possibly making it a mistake for them to pull their punches in not killing Laenor).

I found the whole “controlling your dragon” thing to be cool. The contrast here being between Daemon and Aemond. I think Aemond’s emotions and anger got the better of him, and bled over to the dragon. It’ll be interesting to see that come into play in the future.

"And that's when Aemond knew he f****d up."

I've nothing much to add to what has already been said, except that I have enjoyed this series and am eagerly looking forward to the next season.

Well, with two episodes down season 2 is off to an interesting start. Two attempted assassinations, the murder of a child, and the hanging of a bunch of innocent commoners.

Brutal.

I've heard this war sees an escalation of atrocities on both sides, and I can totally see it. Basically, nearly everyone is some level of evil douche and deserves an end which is commensurate with their level of douchery.

Which means, at the moment, Helaena is about the only decent person who deserves some happiness. I was feeling sorry for Aegon for about 2 seconds, but he cured that quickly.

And Ser Cole is, I think, the absolute worse of the entire show. He's just evil. But the pathetic kind.

We're enjoying it so far. I hope to see some brutal and well-deserved deaths later on.

Indeed. I look forward to several characters getting what they so richly deserve.

Nearly forgot to talk about last week's episode. It was nice to see Rhaenyra try to make peace with Allicent. That Allicent rejected it outright was sad, but not suprising. And Daemon got a nice, creepy preview of his doom to come.

The brothel scene is seared into my brain. A bit more risqué than I was expecting from HBO. And way more of Aemond than I ever needed to see.

Tomorrow, I hear we're getting some dragon violence in earnest. I look forward to it.