Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This does kind of put the HOUSE OF THE DRAGON creators in a conundrum. Are they doing an adaptation of the books, or a prequel to the TV show? Because they differed quite markedly in a lot of ways. I'd bet cash money Martin will not end his series the way the TV show did. (I'd actually bet he won't finish, but that's another topic.)
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON's Season 1 finale? Meh. The pacing and lake of stakes continue to drag the show down. GAME OF THRONES first season ended with our favorite character, the hero of the show whom every one loved, getting his head lopped off. It was a major shocker (at least for anyone who hadn't read the book). HOUSE OF THE DRAGON ended with a long, drawn-out, often confusing chase scene ending in the death of a character we barely knew.
I have no doubt next season will be full of spectacle, but without some better writing it is going to continue to feel empty. Does anyone really care who gets the Iron Throne at this point? Not me. Would the death of any of these characters really hurt? Nope. And is there any tension remaining over the Song of Ice and Fire? Not a bit.
Hindsight is often 20/20, but in hindsight, this show's setting was a mistake. We know all there is to know already, and none of the characters tug at hour heart strings. There is no mystery and no affection, so the drama is robbed of all tension. This show should have taken an era when there was still lots of room for character and plot development. I'd much rather know about the Doom of Valyria or the Conquest of the Andals or the Invasion of Dorne than be privy to what meetings Rhaenerys took on her way to a fate I already know.
That's interesting. Mark, without telling us about Rhaenerys' fate (because I don't know it, yet, having not gotten that far into Fire & Blood), can you recall whether it was included in some episode of GoT where they talked about the story of the Targaryans (so it would be part of the TV canon already and we've merely forgotten it), or whether you just know it from reading GRRM's books?
Right now I'm well into what will become the next TV season in F&B, and I can see that the TV producers have got their job cut out for them, like they had in S1: Very little dialogue, hurried descriptions of major events, lots of battle deaths of people who've only been mentioned once or twice (so why should we care) and still no reason to get one's emotions engaged in anybody's story. Putting TV meat on those book bones is going to be a huge task. I'm a little bit impressed that the TV writers managed to squeeze some emotions out of the last 2-3 episodes of S1. I actually started to care about a few characters--and then the season was over.
Does anyone really care who gets the Iron Throne at this point? Not me. Would the death of any of these characters really hurt? Nope. And is there any tension remaining over the Song of Ice and Fire? Not a bit.
I can’t believe many do and I wonder at how successful the numbers really are despite what the showrunner claims
That's interesting. Mark, without telling us about Rhaenerys' fate (because I don't know it, yet, having not gotten that far into Fire & Blood), can you recall whether it was included in some episode of GoT where they talked about the story of the Targaryans (so it would be part of the TV canon already and we've merely forgotten it), or whether you just know it from reading GRRM's books
You kind of merged 2 names there.
Rhaenys isnt mentioned in Game of Thrones as far as I know.
Rhaenyra's fate is mentioned twice. I believe in season 3, and again in season 5.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON's Season 1 finale? Meh. The pacing and lake of stakes continue to drag the show down. GAME OF THRONES first season ended with our favorite character, the hero of the show whom every one loved, getting his head lopped off. It was a major shocker (at least for anyone who hadn't read the book). HOUSE OF THE DRAGON ended with a long, drawn-out, often confusing chase scene ending in the death of a character we barely knew.
No, that was episode 9. the season final was episode 10 and it ended with Robb being crowned, and Dany's dragon eggs hatching.
Quote:
Hindsight is often 20/20, but in hindsight, this show's setting was a mistake. We know all there is to know already, and none of the characters tug at hour heart strings. There is no mystery and no affection, so the drama is robbed of all tension. This show should have taken an era when there was still lots of room for character and plot development. I'd much rather know about the Doom of Valyria or the Conquest of the Andals or the Invasion of Dorne than be privy to what meetings Rhaenerys took on her way to a fate I already know.
But you already know the fate of the other things you listed too, just less detail.
Isn’t that the unspoken Hightower strategy?
He maneuvered his daughter into the King’s bed, so she could provide heirs to contest who would rule, and then helped estrange Rhaenyra and her father so she was not there when he died, and then supported his grandson’s spurious claim to the Iron Throne?
Isn’t that always the unspoken justification for coups?
One of my biggest problems with the series is indeed that the above was not the plot.(or rather that they seemed to change their minds half way)
In the book, that is clearly the plot. In the show, Otto seems to actually be sad for the king when his wife dies, and may honestly have sent his daughter to him to make him happy,not to get her to become his queen. Alicent herself supported Rhaenyra's claim at that point, and even after she had children.
the change happens in the 3rd, and 5th episodes.
In the 3rd Episode, Otto talks with his brother, who is the one who says Otto should push him to name Aegon his heir. And in episode 5, the same happens, Its Hubert(otto's brother), who tells Alicent to push her son over Rhaenyra
Rhaenys isnt mentioned in Game of Thrones as far as I know.
Rhaenyra's fate is mentioned twice. I believe in season 3, and again in season 5.
Really? Thanks, had no idea, even after 2-3 viewings! So it's part of the canon. That's important. BTW, sorry I can't keep all those Rhaeneraryses apart. The names are all concoctions based on "Reina," of course, hint, hint. Just because the European royals had the bad habit of naming their babies after their elders/ancestors (or they took their the names of ancestors when becoming rulers) doesn't mean that GRRM should imitate them...
I got a kick out of realizing that watching The Crown and House of the Dragon at the same time, you get the feeling that you're in a sense watching the same story...
Just finished watching this and very impressed so far with the production value. Much better than GOT. I think the show's pacing is a bit similar to the Witcher how they just skipped through so many years. The show's screen writers and directors did a great job making the 8 episodes very high quality and didn't feel like a PBS quality show like GOT S1-3. Dont get me wrong that GOT is better still but the quality is incomparable to HOD.
If they stay true to the books (big "if," I know, going on HBO's history), I almost dread watching this. There will be tears. There will be grief. There will be catharsis.
Heck, I already cried my eyes out at the season finale.
When dragons fight dragons, the whole world burns.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
