[worry]

Yah another very good one. Definitely leaning into the Shakespearean drama by the end, but this story lends itself to that.

Spoiler

The whole dance to panicked crowd transition was really well done.

This post has been edited by Renewed For 2 More Seasons: 20 September 2022 - 02:19 AM

[QuickTidal]

 Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 20 September 2022 - 02:03 AM, said:

Yah another very good one. Definitely leaning into the Shakespearean drama by the end, but this story lends itself to that.

Spoiler

The whole dance to panicked crowd transition was really well done.

This whole episode was almost a masterclass in how to make good TV and good drama. Every aspect of it was well handled, choreographed, and executed.

Spoiler

I think my fave thing is that Daemon didn't rise when Queen Allicent came in like everyone else did. He just sat there eyeballing the whole charade disdainfully. He's fast becoming my favourite character across all the GOT media...Matt Smith is KILLING it.

Oh, and also I kept seeing people say that Dameon killed Rhea Royce (The Bronze Bitch), and while yes he very likely ended her life with that rock...the fall from the horse absolutely paralyzed her first (and nothing in that scene can convince me that a horse that this woman regularly HAWKS from would be spooked by anything Dameon could do standing 20 feet from them), and then she taunted him about "not being able to finish" and THEN he picks up the rock. Whether he went there intending to do away with her (it's entirely possible, and even likely he did since his goals are clearly set on Rhaenyra and the Iron Throne), the scene is very ambiguous by having her accident paralyze herself first in a fall from the horse. I know in FIRE & BLOOD (though I'm not at the civil war yet in my read of it) it's left even more ambiguous and only the fall from the horse and the smack on the rock is recorded.

Also, is this the first time we've properly seen the Royce's on the show? (I can't recall if we saw the Royce's OR Runestone on GOT)....I know the former Knight/Night's Watch guy who goes north of the wall in the prologue of AGOT and gets slaughtered by a white walker is Ser Waymar Royce...so that's cool.

Ser Cristen Cole has ABSOLUTELY no chill, and I feel like we just witnessed the beginning of his villain arc? Allicent too.

And he was like "Am I just your whore"? Dude....dude....if the princess wants only to have sex with you and there is no other strings attached to that...then that seems like a fine deal, no? Like in what world did he think the heir to the damned throne of the seven kingdoms was going to be like "Nah, let's go live in ignominiously across the narrow sea as farmers and farmers wife WITHOUT your dragon"....dafuq?

Two things that stood out as foreshadowing: The green dress is an impressive feat....with just the colour of her dress Allicent showed a room full of nobles who would know very much the context (she would have been expected to wear Black & Red to show support for Rhaenyra's wedding) that she was rejecting Rhaenyra's eventual claim to the throne.

Second, the wedding Dance slowly turning to violence that the nobles initially chuckled at, only to turn deadly serious in the end...the Nobles of Westeros were literally WATCHING the "Dance of the Dragons Civil War" be foreshadowed in realtime....my gods, the excellence.

I LOVED seeing the Driftmark and the Driftwood throne. The set designers on this show are killing it....that throne room (great room, whatever you want to call it) that Rhaenys and Corlys were chatting in (also, they are wholesome AF as a couple, and I heart them) looks exactly like you'd expect it to look for being on an island in the sea.

I still fucking LOVE this show.


Ten Year time jump to next episode.

Oh and new band name:

Spoiler

The Dead Joffreys

Meme's I've seen so far that made me laugh (Spoilered for content obvs):

Spoiler

It wouldn’t be an episode of House of the Dragon without Daemon dramatically waltzing in unwanted.

What a depressing, yet excellent final shot, truly brilliant showing the state of the realm: Two people who don’t want to be wed getting married in tears. The king no longer able to stand, the crown falling from his head, and a rat in the Throne Room sipping on blood.

Ser Criston “let’s buy a van, live on the beach and sell beads”

Not Daemon trying to kiss his niece in the middle of the dance floor at her own wedding...In front of the king (his brother her dad).

Weddings: 2
Joffrey's: 0

Bruh the king would literally rather die than continue to deal with their bullshit.

Ser Criston : "I can show you the world"

Ser Criston with that Yellowcard 'Ocean Avenue' vibe

Lord of Casterly Rock: Congratulations on the wedding, you two make a good match.
Rhaenyra: There's not a single person I'd rather be married to.
Lannister:....

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 20 September 2022 - 03:28 PM

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

I agree. That's what I like about Corlys and Rhaenys, that they are a genuinely loving couple despite the political approach the noble houses have towards marriage.

[Malankazooie]

Things change though. I've no doubt HotD will do the same a la Jaime Lannister (i.e. from contemptible to tragic/heroic). So appearance of matrimonial bliss is what's coming across now. Where that will be anchored down the road, I guess we'll see. Rhaenys, based on her scene with Rhaenyra, has some Queen of Thorns aspect to her. There's everything at stake, the motivation is there for wherever they decide to take it.

I guess one thing that might have been hinted at, but not really strong yet, is the madness that is baked into the Targaryens. That's a thing through their line, right? So I suppose that could be a switch that turns things, or is in the mix, yeah?

[Briar King]

I am enjoying this show I’m just trying to figure out if it is really good for real or just good compared to what passes for modern day shitty tv. In a way it’s reminding me a lot of Deadwood’s movie which was good but muted I guess compared to the grittiness of the series. The raunch is being held back from GoT as well as some of the hardcore violence but the tournament in ep 1 was good. Overall thus far I am pleased thankfully. Hoping it remains so.

It is blowing Rings of Prime away though for sure.

[QuickTidal]

um...was everyone else aware that the aged-up Aegon II on Episode 6 and onwards is going to be played by David Tennant's son (Peter Davison's grandson) Ty?

The Doctor Who connections to this show just grew twofold. Amazing.

[champ]

So after what happened with s8 and the absolute shit show that is the book series/my dislike of GRRM I refused to watch this show and I've stuck with it...

Though I tend to watch shows in one go now when the full season is out so whilst its weekly eps it is easy for me to say that...

From the love this show gets though in this thread I feel I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face here...

I'll probably crack!

[QuickTidal]

 champ, on 21 September 2022 - 06:37 PM, said:

So after what happened with s8 and the absolute shit show that is the book series/my dislike of GRRM I refused to watch this show and I've stuck with it...

Though I tend to watch shows in one go now when the full season is out so whilst its weekly eps it is easy for me to say that...

From the love this show gets though in this thread I feel I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face here...

I'll probably crack!

I mean, put it this way.

I hated the last two seasons of GOT (I mean there are redeeming qualities in singular scenes....but as a book reader it all felt rushed and badly plotted fan fiction)
I used to be harder on GRRM than I am....I've softened on him, but I was angry we didn't have the next book for a long time, and I even at one point swore off the final books...(I've since changed that tune a lot)
I was not ready to be "hurt" again...

But my wife wanted to watch. So I did.

I am very glad I did. This has gone back to being 'Appointment TV' for our house again (something we've not done SINCE GOT was on the air)....like we line up some drinks and snacks and watch it live as it airs Sunday nights.

It's even gotten me to go back and start re-watching GOT, something I NEVER thought I'd do (I'm not going to punish myself by going past S5 though I think).

So grain of salt and all that, but HOTD is excellent and the source material is completed for it....so no one is "winging it" in the story department the way Benioff and Weiss did in the last few seasons of GOT.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

What I enjoy the most is that the production team behind HotD is more faithful to the details of the world of ASoIaF, such as having an Iron Throne that, while nowhere near as the size of the gargantuan monstruosity of the book, is at least the jagged misshapen seat of power that would be pretty risky to sit upon, and the remaining smelted swords on the sides bring the number to 1000 (2500 swords according to what I've read). Dragon bones are black as if made out of onyx. The insides of the palaces are grand and richly decorated.

[QuickTidal]

 ContrarianMalazanReader, on 21 September 2022 - 07:05 PM, said:

What I enjoy the most is that the production team behind HotD is more faithful to the details of the world of ASoIaF, such as having an Iron Throne that, while nowhere near as the size of the gargantuan monstruosity of the book, is at least the jagged misshapen seat of power that would be pretty risky to sit upon, and the remaining smelted swords on the sides bring the number to 1000 (2500 swords according to what I've read). Dragon bones are black as if made out of onyx. The insides of the palaces are grand and richly decorated.

Agreed. And re-watching GOT in hindsight makes it more obvious as the throne in that show looks pitifully under-sworded. The attention to detail is on point for sure, not just in sets, but costuming, and backdrops.

[Malankazooie]

I don't know, any adaptation has to bring some practicality (and changes are inevitable that will not fit everyone's picture). I never had a problem with the Iron Throne from GoT. Also, don't shoot the messenger because I don't ascribe to it and love that there is more inclusivity now, but the "go woke, go broke" mindset is a polluting element now to anything (see racist shit with Star Wars, and of recent LotR RoP). But eliminating that, the reader forms their picture of how key pieces of literature materialize in their imagination, often that doesn't jive with what rolls on the screen. Not a big deal for the most part, unless it's really off the mark.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

Even though I'm not Caucasian (I am a mix of Spanish, black African and native American) I must say that I genuinely dislike this forced diversity in movies and TV series.

Want diversity in your adaptations? Then use material that is already diverse, such as the works of Ursula K Le Guin. In the case of superheroes, DC have a treasure trove in the form of their Milestone imprint. Why is it so hard to use that?

[worry]

Kinda makes you wonder what preceded Forced Diversity.

[QuickTidal]

 Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 22 September 2022 - 06:01 AM, said:

Kinda makes you wonder what preceded Forced Diversity.

This.

Also, I'd love for someone to explain "forced diversity" to me, especially in regards to this show and this FICTIONAL universe.

What is someone "forcing"?

Is that like the "I'm being lectured by watching TV" thing BK complained about?

Please explain, in detail, what you mean guys....

 ContrarianMalazanReader, on 22 September 2022 - 12:03 AM, said:

Want diversity in your adaptations? Then use material that is already diverse, such as the works of Ursula K Le Guin. In the case of superheroes, DC have a treasure trove in the form of their Milestone imprint. Why is it so hard to use that?

And I think you should ask yourself why it bothers you so much that fictional characters are cast with diverse actors who work in the industry...that sounds like a 'You' problem bro.

Oh and they tried to make a movie with Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea world and Hollywood cast fucking white people in it. FFS the woman had to fight tooth and nail just to eventually get the characters properly represented on the covers of her own damned books over the years and STILL like 90% of those various covers had the characters as white. Let's not drag LeGuin into this....she's not the game piece you think she is in your thinly veiled racist take.

Bottom line, when adapting Fictional worlds and universes they can cast WHOMEVER they like, because none of it is real...and if that bothers you, look inwards and ask yourself why.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 22 September 2022 - 12:35 PM

[Maark Abbott]

I think the argument is something along the lines of picking X amount of actors based on 'woke factors' X Y and Z to satisfy criteria (so essentially, tokenism), rather than the actors being picked on merit of their acting. Don't quote me on that though because 'forced diversity' as a complaint seems like a Q rabbit hole and fucked if I'm peering into one of those.

[QuickTidal]

Getting back on topic, I'd like to comment on something my wife and I both enjoy on this show...the writers and directors are very much investing in the female gaze and it's hooking the Booktok/Sarah J. Maas "enemies to lovers" traits of the books they enjoy. GOT didn't really ever invest in this POV, but HOTD repeatedly invests in it and it's wonderful and I'm super thankful that there are so many women beyond the cameras on this show.

[worry]

I agree...not to mention Milly Alcock has a great, very expressive face for that kind of thing. It's gonna be sad to see her go. She seems to have had a pretty healthy TV resume before this (at least in Australia), but I suspect she may have made an even bigger splash than the showrunners were expecting.

[QuickTidal]

 Renewed For 2 More Seasons, on 22 September 2022 - 02:05 PM, said:

I agree...not to mention Milly Alcock has a great, very expressive face for that kind of thing. It's gonna be sad to see her go. She seems to have had a pretty healthy TV resume before this (at least in Australia), but I suspect she may have made an even bigger splash than the showrunners were expecting.

For what it's worth, Emma D'Arcy looks to be really good in the role, and they are already in a clip out there of a scene from the next episode and I think they'll do the role proud even if they are filling the deep shoes of Milly one that front.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

Milly Alcock's career is sure to skyrocket after this.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

 Maark Abbott, on 22 September 2022 - 11:51 AM, said:

I think the argument is something along the lines of picking X amount of actors based on 'woke factors' X Y and Z to satisfy criteria (so essentially, tokenism), rather than the actors being picked on merit of their acting. Don't quote me on that though because 'forced diversity' as a complaint seems like a Q rabbit hole and fucked if I'm peering into one of those.

This is pretty much my line of thinking.