House of the Dragon (Game of Thrones prequel)

It's in a similar boat as the current Lord of the Rings show by Amazon (amusingly enough) in that it isn't adapting a book per see as much as a chronological description of events that unfold. Both are based on what's essentially the author dictating events that happened in the past rather than writing a book about those events, so the shows will have to (inherently) make stuff up and change others, particularly as both narratives are inconsistent and unreliable (by design in Martin's case and by accident in Tolkien's).

So, what did people think of the pilot?

The pilot was fucking awesome!

The best part I really liked about it was the Kingsguard's loyalty. As soon as Daemon started to angrily approach the throne after his brother King Viserys informed him he would name Rhaenyra as heir instead of him, they quickly stood in front of him and partially unsheathed their swords. They would have killed him if Daemon had been stupid enough to continue onward.

That is what I call true loyalty. This Kingsguard is awesome.

The show's caesarion is more traumatizing for me than any of its other violence.

And Otto pimping out his own daughter was an understated but amazing moment for establishing him as an utter scumbag.

I liked the Soap Opera aspects. I was halfway expecting someone’s aunt to be pushed down the stairs.

That was.....actually pretty good. Very well done also the dialogue hear feels way more like the dialogue in the books going by their vocabulary.

I'm kind of saddened to see so many people expected this to be a dumpster fire.

Most of the reviews seem to be people surprised by its quality.

Spin-offs often don't have a good reputation, and a lot of people still feel burned after Game of Thrones.

I gotta credit the show that cutting away to some dude get his head split open makes me feel relieved in comparison to the caesarian.

Really reinforces the theme that the men have had decades of peace but the "women's battlefield" of the birthing bed is still just as deadly.

Decent start and I'm liking the adaptational changes, Alicent and Viserys I actually feel compelling and engaging, which is a pretty big shift from my read of F&B a few years ago.

Leak-wise, I've heard that they're making Alicent and Aemond more sympathetic characters and Aegon II a less sympathetic character.

Honestly really great and can’t wait for more.

That was well-done, well-acted, well-set, but also quite predictable even if like me you had read absolutely nothing about the plot. You couldn't have put a biggest death warning on the Queen if you tried really.

Still, they seem to have taken inspiration from the early, slower parts of GOT, so it's promising.

I mean, like someone else said, medieval birth-giving was dangerous back then. Not for nothing would a Viking funeral be given to a woman who died in childbirth.

How do you make a guy who feeds his sister to his dragon alive in front of her own child less sympathetic?

Seriously, about the only good thing the tv tropes character page says about him is that he's not a coward.

So I was uninterested in this due to some earlier stated reasons (like most, I'm not a fan of the show's finale....though I still liked that smug smile the Night King gave after tanking the fire, and I gotta admit, Dany's rampage was epic, even if it massively derailed her).

But I watched this and well, I did end up liking it.

Finally watched the 1st episode of Hot D. Good episode and didn't mind one of the High Lords was a Black Valyrian since G.R.R. Martin wanted to do one in the books. Is it just me or is Rhaenyra and Alicent very affectionate with each other that i thought they were lovers. If I hadn't known they were besties, I would find it weird, awkward and so very H-anime that Alicent is "dating" the princess while being ordered to seduce her "girlfriend's" dad. .

A foregone conclusion but a new one nonetheless: Season 2 is in the bag.

Finally watched the first episode. I loved this episode. Daemon is my favorite character so far, but that is not really surprising considering he's played by Matt Smith. Rhaenyra and Alicent's interactions were surprisingly affectionate. That is a good change in my opinion as it adds or presumably will more depth to their eventual animosity.

Overall a very good pilot that left me exited for the rest of the show.

Edited by Bullman on Aug 26th 2022 at 12:54:41 PM

My God the intro is so well done with the old theme. Love it!

Damn, they really went all in criticizing the disgusting pedophiliac tendencies of old men with power.

Viserys being the only one who seems to realize how messed up it is.

Watched both episodes. I'm finding it pretty good, although the choice of time period seems like a risky gambit as there's going to be a lot of skipping around before the scenario can really settle in.

The observations on the bloodshed of childbirth and the fucked up pedophilliac marriages of the Targaryens are a neat new focus to the live-action franchise. I hope the show manages the same kind eyes towards the obvious matters of class divide (given they will obviously become a theme unless they adapt out the Moon of Three Kings).

I really liked this episode as well. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Looks like Viserys screwed up by not properly telling his daughter he's gonna marry her best friend(or girlfriend as i like to call her).

Yea, after his heart to heart talk with his daughter you'd think he'd actually mention who he planned on marrying.