OT: House of the Dragon - Discussion

[Crazed_RU]

I've been reflecting on this for a while ...

Was listening to the Prestige TV pod as they were discussing the last episode of Presumed Innocent (GREAT show; highly recommend) and the hosts were bemoaning how the networks pay by the episode and not for the entire season. Presumed Innocent, they think (and I agree) could have been done just as well with one or two fewer shows. Too much fluff that drags the show on. I feel the same way with HOD.

Though not quite as good as GOT (mostly because there are no characters quite as compelling as Tyrion or even Jaime Lannister. BTW, I thought the last episode was pretty awesome, even again absent the big set piece battles in recent episodes.

The pacing issues have been:

• Daemon - How long do his visions have to go on before we fully understand he's going mad? I was okay with the first batch of dreams/hallucinations, but it has grown tiresome (and rarely work in any context). I was pleased to see the plot of his character move along in the last episode.
• Rhaenyra/Alicent Hightower. I like how these powerful women represent the idea of keeping peace and prosperity within the kingdom while also playing chess matches to consolidate their power. However, this has gone on for too long. Their indecision dulls some of the early S2 epdisodes. The latest episode does move things along for Rhaenyra (Great! - more dragons). Alicent deciding to go camping at least got her out of her over-extended power struggle with Aemond. Perhaps she's off in the woods while dragons burn up her sons.

Once again, the last episode was great, with the dragon burning up the bastards at the end of show one of the best-ever scenes in HOD or GOT. So looking forward to the finale on Sunday.

I agree nothing has been as frustrating as Daemons hallucinations. We don’t need to see it for 6 episodes straight. The Riverlands storyline has certainly dragged.

 

[Crazed_RU]

FYI - almost the entire finale episode got leaked online yesterday. LOL! Most of the videos have been taken down by HBO already, but there are spoilers everywhere. I read about Daemon's arc/scenes and they are very interesting. Not sure if good or bad yet. However, I have decided to avoid the rest and just wait until Sunday.

Thanks for the warning (and for keeping mum) I’m going to avoid everything.

 

[Crazed_RU]

I struggled with this early, and didn't even watch beyond S1 E1 initially(granted I was between cable companies for a stretch) but once I got into it, I'm not sure I find this cast of characters any less compelling then GOT.

I think they are doing a really good job with the 2 female leads at making them strong characters but also making it seem like they are both trying to do the right and honorable thing. As “good” as they think they are, their actions contribute to spiraling of war.

 

[RU-05]

I think they are doing a really good job with the 2 female leads at making them strong characters but also making it seem like they are both trying to do the right and honorable thing. As “good” as they think they are, their actions contribute to spiraling of war.

Ya and those two are both interesting characters............one of which I have a bit of a crush on, so maybe I'm a little biased.

But I question how much their actions have contributed. Seems like if we take Daemon and Aemond out of the mix, each responsible for the death of a rival child, avoiding war would be much easier.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Ya and those two are both interesting characters............one of which I have a bit of a crush on, so maybe I'm a little biased.

But I question how much their actions have contributed. Seems like if we take Daemon and Aemond out of the mix, each responsible for the death of a rival child, avoiding war would be much easier.

Sounds like someone here likes feet!

 

[Crazed_RU]

Well, true to form GoT shows peak in episode before the last. We didn’t get much in episode 8.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Well, true to form GoT shows peak in episode before the last. We didn’t get much in episode 8.

I'll post some links later. The Battle of the Gullet (which is epic) was moved to S3 E1 due to budget. Season 2 cost about $200m and they simply ran out of money. Each massive battle costs $30-40m to make it look as it should. Disappointed in the season getting cut short, but I understand the financial reality of the business.

 

[Rufaninga]

Looked like the budget ran out on that first scene. Ok, Interns let's see what you can do.

Was hoping for more in last episode of season. Seemed more of a setup for next. Bit of a let down. (I have not read the books, btw)

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

I'll post some links later. The Battle of the Gullet (which is epic) was moved to S3 E1 due to budget. Season 2 cost about $200m and they simply ran out of money. Each massive battle costs $30-40m to make it look as it should. Disappointed in the season getting cut short, but I understand the financial reality of the business.

Wow - $200 mil! I thought the whole season was disappointing, but can live with it because Season 3 is shaping up to be great.

As for the battle budget, I’d be okay if they just showed the aftermath of a battle or two (as was done earlier in Season 2). In any case, I hope that Season 3 hits the airwaves/interwebs soon.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Wow - $200 mil! I thought the whole season was disappointing, but can live with it because Season 3 is shaping up to be great.

As for the battle budget, I’d be okay if they just showed the aftermath of a battle or two (as was done earlier in Season 2). In any case, I hope that Season 3 hits the airwaves/interwebs soon.

Dragons cost a lot of money! LOL. It seems they are going to merge a few battles together for the beginning of season 3. As I mentioned before, the Battle of the Gullet is the largest naval battle in the history of Westeros. That's happening. However, you are also getting a few land/dragon battles at the same time, so this is probably a good idea for the TV show on managing time and budget.

As we wait for season 3, the second post GoT spinoff show will air in early 2025 - Tales of Dunk and Egg.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Its kinda sad that any GoT fan knows that this takes place some 160ish years before GoT and we know.. or at least suspect.. there are no dragons flying around anywhere. (though wasn't there something near the end of GoT that hinted at a wild dragon somewhere in the north of Essos?)

So, not much of a spoiler to say, all teh dragons go nite-nite before this series is over. I didn't read the source material so there are some surprises in store, I am sure. I kinda hoped that the dragon-killing ballistae are used in some betrayal at some point and that it is not all dragons killing dragons.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Its kinda sad that any GoT fan knows that this takes place some 160ish years before GoT and we know.. or at least suspect.. there are no dragons flying around anywhere. (though wasn't there something near the end of GoT that hinted at a wild dragon somewhere in the north of Essos?)

So, not much of a spoiler to say, all teh dragons go nite-nite before this series is over. I didn't read the source material so there are some surprises in store, I am sure. I kinda hoped that the dragon-killing ballistae are used in some betrayal at some point and that it is not all dragons killing dragons.

Based on the source materials, there are 20 dragons at the start of the war, but only 4 remaining afterwards.

 

[mosito]

I assume there will only be 3 seasons then? or will it run into a 4th?

 

[T2Kplus20]

I assume there will only be 3 seasons then? or will it run into a 4th?

Sounds like the plan is 4 seasons, which makes sense based on the source material.

 

[DC8690]

This season has been disappointing, but I wonder if I hadn't read the book I would feel the same way.

 

[Section124]

I agree with the above. Didn't read the books but thought S1 was good, but S2 was overall boring. Seems like this whole season was just a set up for future seasons. Can't say the cliffhanger was enough to get me excited for when it comes back in 1-2 years.

 

[Crazed_RU]

Dragons cost a lot of money! LOL. It seems they are going to merge a few battles together for the beginning of season 3. As I mentioned before, the Battle of the Gullet is the largest naval battle in the history of Westeros. That's happening. However, you are also getting a few land/dragon battles at the same time, so this is probably a good idea for the TV show on managing time and budget.

As we wait for season 3, the second post GoT spinoff show will air in early 2025 - Tales of Dunk and Egg.

This is why I didn't expect to see a significant scene with the wild dragon being claimed. Now we did see it which is a little more than I expected, but certainly didn't expect a scene like with Vermithor tearing up the place in Episode 7, which well could have been the most expensive production scenes of the season.

 

[RutHut]

For the upcoming Dunk and Egg series, the source material is an easy read and in comic book format as shown in the video below. The storytelling is straight forward and mostly follows Dunk, which I prefer over most of the HotD characters.

 

[T2Kplus20]

This is why I didn't expect to see a significant scene with the wild dragon being claimed. Now we did see it which is a little more than I expected, but certainly didn't expect a scene like with Vermithor tearing up the place in Episode 7, which well could have been the most expensive production scenes of the season.

Yikes, somewhat disappointing. Modest spoilers.

 

[T2Kplus20]

For the upcoming Dunk and Egg series, the source material is an easy read and in comic book format as shown in the video below. The storytelling is straight forward and mostly follows Dunk, which I prefer over most of the HotD characters.

View embedded media

Should be a blast! Looking forward to this show.

 

[RutHut]

 

[RUAldo]

Yikes, somewhat disappointing. Modest spoilers.

View embedded media

WM-Discovery is a disaster. The epic battles are what people pay to see on HBO not the ramblings of two plotting women or the hallucinations of an interesting character they neutered. Poorly run company as evidenced by the fact that whenever I open my HBO app the shows recommended by the algorithm could not be further from my taste in shows. Not to mention why are Entourage and East Bound & Down not cult classics?!?!