House of the Dragon - HBO - Discussion (Spoilers)

[lonestar]

Definitely exceeding expectations, as are Andor and Rings of Power. Some top notch television right now for sure.

[gmillerdrake]

Definitely exceeding expectations, as are Andor and Rings of Power. Somyop notch television right now for sure. e

Looks like King got ahold of RJ's phone and tried to post 

[lonestar]

Lol fix'd

[faizoff]

Agree with everyone else on how top notch this show has been so far.

[ariich]

I'm not as convinced so far by the time jump and recasting. Most of the main cast just feel like completely different characters now- I think possibly more due to the change in writing after the time jump than the change in cast but probably a bit of both.

Also unrelated but so much of the latest episode was ridiculously dark (visually), I could hardly see a thing at times.

[Chino]

Man. What a freaking episode! That might have been the best one yet. That fight scene with the kids...wow. So well done.

I was on the fence about the actor changes, but I'm fine with it now. There's no way we could have gotten the sex scene with Daemon and whatever is likely to come with the original actress. I don't think the optics would have been great for HBO.

+1 on the episode being too dark comment.

Definitely didn't see that coming. Great episode.

I am liking the pace of this show more and more. Just moving it right along.....kind of indicates that they maybe only have a two or three year run in mind? I haven't looked into how many seasons they're planning with this show....but at this pace I can't imagine it'll be more than three seasons if it can even make it that far.

I don't know. Why not just let it run? Is there any reason why they couldn't just keep time hopping here and there, eventually getting us into the OG GOT timeline? I think there's plenty of lore to explore, with or without book equivalents. 

[gmillerdrake]

I don't know. Why not just let it run? Is there any reason why they couldn't just keep time hopping here and there, eventually getting us into the OG GOT timeline? I think there's plenty of lore to explore, with or without book equivalents.

I'd be on board for that! I have not read the books so I only know the 'history' from what the OG show shared....but there seems to be plenty of content there to fill the gap from what we're seeing now in HOTD to when we pick up in GOT.

I'd personally love to see a little 6 episode hit of the Battle of the Trident.

[hefdaddy42]

Also unrelated but so much of the latest episode was ridiculously dark (visually), I could hardly see a thing at times.

This was my only complaint.

Looks like the sides are drawn up.  Now we just need the king to die and the fun can start!

[gmillerdrake]

Also unrelated but so much of the latest episode was ridiculously dark (visually), I could hardly see a thing at times.

This was my only complaint.

HBO is saying it was 100% intentional because they were 'night' scenes....and....not coincidentally Miguel Sapochnik who directed the last 'dark' episode in GOT....that battle of Winterfell episode....directed this one. I guess I 'get' what they're saying but you have to make a better decision there.

[Chino]

Also unrelated but so much of the latest episode was ridiculously dark (visually), I could hardly see a thing at times.

This was my only complaint.

HBO is saying it was 100% intentional because they were 'night' scenes....and....not coincidentally Miguel Sapochnik who directed the last 'dark' episode in GOT....that battle of Winterfell episode....directed this one. I guess I 'get' what they're saying but you have to make a better decision there.

My issue with that is that I'm sure it looks great on an ideal setup with a certain combination of settings. But people's TV settings range. Not everyone is watching on a well backlit modern display, or in a dark room without a lot of natural light pollution. I know for me, I can't remember watching anything on any platform in my house and complaining about the lighting, with the exception of this most recent episode (and that one from GOT). HBO commented that something like only 1% of the comments on social media were complaining about the lighting. That's still like 300K viewers, and it could be even higher than that.

[ariich]

Also unrelated but so much of the latest episode was ridiculously dark (visually), I could hardly see a thing at times.

This was my only complaint.

HBO is saying it was 100% intentional because they were 'night' scenes....and....not coincidentally Miguel Sapochnik who directed the last 'dark' episode in GOT....that battle of Winterfell episode....directed this one. I guess I 'get' what they're saying but you have to make a better decision there.

Yeah, intentional choices can still be bad ones. If anything that makes it in some ways worse.

Good Guardian article on it: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/04/like-it-was-lit-with-a-single-tea-light-for-a-bet-house-of-the-dragon-has-a-terrible-problem

"Usually, when it comes to writing about House of the Dragon, the agreed etiquette is to place a spoiler warning near the top of a piece, to ensure that no important plot details are ruined for anyone a few episodes behind. But there’s no need to do that here, because I’ve watched the most recent episode of House of the Dragon, and, with a gun to my head, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what happened in it.

If you saw the episode, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Things definitely did happen in the episode, I’m sure of it. At one point, a yellowy brown smear may have got imperceptibly closer to another yellowy brown smear, and then there was the bit where a grey thing wobbled about on a background that was almost exactly the same colour. There might have been a castle in it but, even though I squinted at my screen so hard I dislocated my face, there’s a good chance that it was actually a person, or a shrub, or a vase or something"

[cramx3]

The darkness of the episode, while noticeable, wasn't too big of an issue for me because it was dialogue scenes.  Compared to the action packed episode we couldn't see in the final GOT season, this didn't really bother me. 

Also, I caught up on the last three episodes last night.  This show is so damn good.  The changing of actresses was a bit odd, but I think it helped being able to go right into another episode so I feel like that change only felt weird for 15 minutes. 

I must say though, with the time jump, I was sure the king would be dead by now 

[Samsara]

I must say though, with the time jump, I was sure the king would be dead by now 

I was thinking the same thing. 

[lonestar]

Once I turned off the lights in my room, the darkness of the episode totally worked for me.

[gmillerdrake]

I must say though, with the time jump, I was sure the king would be dead by now 

I was thinking the same thing. 

They're doing a great job of progressively aging him to look utterly ravaged though. I can't imagine he has much longer to go....

[lonestar]

I'm guessing he croaks the next episode, then we got two more for the shit to thoroughly hit the fan.

[faizoff]

The timeline thing did take me a while to get used to but this episode I had no issue, the acting is so good It didn't bother me so much. I do agree that the characters do appear a bit different at first. I find it funny how Matt Smith essentially looks the same with the 10 year gap while everyone else pretty much aged either with makeup or being recast.

[ariich]

The timeline thing did take me a while to get used to but this episode I had no issue, the acting is so good It didn't bother me so much. I do agree that the characters do appear a bit different at first. I find it funny how Matt Smith essentially looks the same with the 10 year gap while everyone else pretty much aged either with makeup or being recast.

Criston Cole also has not aged even slightly.

[The Realm]

Really loved the latest episode. The kid 'taming' the dragon and the kids fighting scene were really great. On the aging of characters (the new actresses) I am not sure it really works for me with the kings daughter Rhaenyra (I think), she seems like a completely different character, but I think the new Queen actress is more believable.

[Zoom E]

Really loved the latest episode. The kid 'taming' the dragon and the kids fighting scene were really great. On the aging of characters (the new actresses) I am not sure it really works for me with the kings daughter Rhaenyra (I think), she seems like a completely different character, but I think the new Queen actress is more believable.

I too have an issue with the older Rhaenyra not feeling like the same character. I guess they couldn't find a good enough actress with a physical resemblance.

[cramx3]

I forgot about how good the Alt Shift X youtube recap videos are.  Been watching them at work today and learning so much more than what I picked up from watching the episodes.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Last weeks episode was kinda a chore for me, seeing the older characters felt a bit off mostly because they didn't look that much like their younger version atleast not Rhaenyra. She reminded me of  Lagertha so much that I had to check.  However the last episode was so awesome it didn't bother me anymore.

I'm so happy right now that both HOTD and ROP are delivering quality TV.

[hefdaddy42]

I didn't have any issues with the change of actors.

[gmillerdrake]

Holy crap what an episode. That entrance by the King gave me freaking chills.

When HBO has GRRM source material they freaking do it up right.

[DragonAttack]

^
👍

[gmillerdrake]

And.....just to reiterate once again.....Paddy Considine has been utterly remarkable as King Viserys. This last episode was just another fantastic performance 

[cramx3]

He was great in that episode, but maybe it's because I was just tired, but I felt like that was the worst episode of the season.  With more time jumps, it just seems like everything is going so fast except Viserys' death which has been dragging forever.  His entrance to the thrown was pretty epic though.

[gmillerdrake]

He was great in that episode, but maybe it's because I was just tired, but I felt like that was the worst episode of the season.  With more time jumps, it just seems like everything is going so fast except Viserys' death which has been dragging forever.  His entrance to the thrown was pretty epic though.

Oh man.....really? I loved that episode, might have been my favorite or close to it. I loved all the tension and undertones of every interaction.

[hefdaddy42]

I thought it was the best episode yet.

[gmillerdrake]

I thought it was the best episode yet.

When Daemon cuts Ser Vaemond's head in half....that was freaking great.....and the grin of admiration that Aemond had witnessing that was a great little glimpse into that dude's character. And the way he 'respects' his Father by waiting until he's no longer around to cleverly say the same exact thing that Vaemond did....but in a manner that even Daemon is impressed by...good stuff. 

[faizoff]

To me I find these episodes gripping from start to finish, they are 90% dialog yet manage to be edge-of-my-seat stuff. The tension is so visible and you can feel it every time.
This show and season have been phenomenal thus far.

[gmillerdrake]

To me I find these episodes gripping from start to finish, they are 90% dialog yet manage to be edge-of-my-seat stuff. The tension is so visible and you can feel it every time.
This show and season have been phenomenal thus far.

100% agree.        All it's done is upset me even more that GRRM didn't bust his ass to get his book finished so the remainder of the GOT storyline would have been strong and it magnifies the ineptitude of the asshats who film schooled their way to the ending. 

[cramx3]

Just to be clear, "worst episode" doesn't necessarily mean bad as I have thought this season has been great so far without an actual bad episode at all.  My issue with the last episode is that it didn't seem to move the needle much.  We jumped 6 years ahead and everything is still in the same spot as before.  All the tensions are the same.  It was acted and played out very well like this entire show has.  For some reason Coryls off screen death kind of bothered me because he was kind of a main character most of this season and I felt like we should have gotten a bit more what happened to him.  It's likely not important so I get why that's the likely reason not to show it.  I guess the only change is I assume Viserys actually did die at the end of the episode this time. It's definitely shaped up to have a really crazy ending, but the episode felt more like set up than opening the story up further.

[gmillerdrake]

  For some reason Coryls off screen death kind of bothered me because he was kind of a main character most of this season and I felt like we should have gotten a bit more what happened to him. 

That would have been a cool 'cold' open....just show a brief 2-3 minutes section of that battle and show him getting hurt and fall into the sea.....then they could have jumped to the throne room where we learned that he recovered but had a fever etc etc.

[cramx3]

  For some reason Coryls off screen death kind of bothered me because he was kind of a main character most of this season and I felt like we should have gotten a bit more what happened to him. 

That would have been a cool 'cold' open....just show a brief 2-3 minutes section of that battle and show him getting hurt and fall into the sea.....then they could have jumped to the throne room where we learned that he recovered but had a fever etc etc.

Unless of course he isn't dead like his son.