House of Dragons

Jarhead0331 · July 22, 2024, 09:23:24 AM

Is anyone else watching Season 2?

I like it, but its very sloooow. The last 3 or 4 episodes have been pretty frustrating, outside of the last 5 minutes that typically get exciting. I feel like we waited 2+ years for season two that is doing little more than setting up for season 3. its going to be another 2-3 years for some payoff?

Ugh.

Gusington · July 22, 2024, 09:46:45 AM

The Wife and I are enjoying it. It is byzantine and difficult to follow but we always watch the producers' notes section if they have one after the episode, that helps tie things together. The acting is very good and the dialogue in this second season is almost Shakespearean - which both helps us enjoy and makes it difficult to follow sometimes. But all in all we enjoy House of Dragons a lot.

Grim.Reaper · July 22, 2024, 09:48:29 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 22, 2024, 09:23:24 AMIs anyone else watching Season 2?

I like it, but its very sloooow. The last 3 or 4 episodes have been pretty frustrating, outside of the last 5 minutes that typically get exciting. I feel like we waited 2+ years for season two that is doing little more than setting up for season 3. its going to be another 2-3 years for some payoff?

Ugh.

Agree, I love games of throne material but the first two seasons have been very slow to me. Feels like trying to build to some major payoff but who knows when that comes. Use to be must watch but recently have been less inclined to care

Jarhead0331 · July 22, 2024, 09:52:02 AM

The whole thing with Daemon at Harrenhal is annoying. It seems like there is more time with him walking around in his pajamas at night while in some quasi-dreamlike state than anything else. They should have covered this in a single episode or two at most...we're going on 4-5 episodes of this already.

Gusington · July 22, 2024, 10:03:10 AM

^Those are some of my favorite scenes. Diff'rent strokes and all that.

undercovergeek · July 22, 2024, 10:11:03 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 22, 2024, 09:52:02 AMThe whole thing with Daemon at Harrenhal is annoying. It seems like there is more time with him walking around in his pajamas at night while in some quasi-dreamlike state than anything else. They should have covered this in a single episode or two at most...we're going on 4-5 episodes of this already.

😂😂 had these exact thoughts this morning after last episode

We get that harrenhall is a spooky place from GoT but it's played out now - the only reason I suspect they've dragged it out is as soon as he's not there he has to be flying a dragon and setting fire to stuff and the story isn't ready for that

Clearly the two black brothers from the shipyard are Targaryen and now someone's got some 'splaining to do now that a dragon has picked one to be a rider

Grim.Reaper · July 22, 2024, 05:35:51 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 22, 2024, 09:52:02 AMThe whole thing with Daemon at Harrenhal is annoying. It seems like there is more time with him walking around in his pajamas at night while in some quasi-dreamlike state than anything else. They should have covered this in a single episode or two at most...we're going on 4-5 episodes of this already.

Yet again, agreed. I don't even pay attention when those scenes come up, way too much focus on that. Read somewhere there will be minimally 4 seasons so means they have a lot more to drag out:)

al_infierno · July 22, 2024, 06:27:37 PM

I just started this series last night, I burned through the first four episodes all in one sitting. I'm loving it so far and dare say I think it's even better than Game of Thrones, namely for how tight and focused it feels in comparison to GRRM's wandering, meandering style of storytelling. I also feel it's, so far at least, a bit less predictable since it doesn't lean quite so hard into Martin's tendencies toward anti-climax and trope subversion.

I can't imagine this show becoming an even *more* slow burn in Season 2, but based on the comments sounds like that's exactly what they did!

Gusington · July 22, 2024, 07:35:05 PM

^I agree that in some ways it is better than the original.

al_infierno · July 22, 2024, 07:44:07 PM

GoT is great and all minus those last few seasons, but this was created specifically for the TV screen and it shows.

Gusington · July 22, 2024, 08:47:27 PM

^Yeah, with some legendary episodes.

House of Dragons is building towards some classic episodes of its own. The slow burn is real! And leading to greatness.

It also helps that I enjoy the Harrenhall haunting episodes.

al_infierno · July 22, 2024, 09:05:18 PM

Also, as usual, this show (along with Game of Thrones) put me in a hankering mood for Crusader Kings 3. Just reinstalled and fired up a new campaign in between episodes.

undercovergeek · July 22, 2024, 10:59:18 PM

Quote from: al_infierno on July 22, 2024, 09:05:18 PMAlso, as usual, this show (along with Game of Thrones) put me in a hankering mood for Crusader Kings 3. Just reinstalled and fired up a new campaign in between episodes.

I think there's a GoT mod for that

al_infierno · July 22, 2024, 11:52:18 PM

Quote from: undercovergeek on July 22, 2024, 10:59:18 PM
Quote from: al_infierno on July 22, 2024, 09:05:18 PMAlso, as usual, this show (along with Game of Thrones) put me in a hankering mood for Crusader Kings 3. Just reinstalled and fired up a new campaign in between episodes.

I think there's a GoT mod for that

There is for CK2, not sure about CK3. I absolutely love the GoT mod for CK2, I might have even played that more than the base game, though the war system is pretty messy due to the way it yanks people off your council every time there's a war.

IMO the best way to play is to do the Clash of Kings start date and create a custom character to replace Robb in The Vale. It's an excellent starting location for a new dynasty, and nobody will particularly miss or care about Robb. Plus it gives you Littlefinger as a courtier and his stats are ridiculous.

al_infierno · July 23, 2024, 01:22:38 AM

Is there a spoiler tag on here? I don't see one, so just a heads up that this paragraph has spoilers up to S1E6.

The character development for Daemon has been insane. I liked characters like Cersei and Tywin as villains for their charisma and whatnot, but none of them are remotely as interesting or well developed as Daemon. No matter what backstory or motivation you give to a ruthless, relentless psychopath, they're still just that. But it was a really cool choice to repeat the dilemma from E1 (my potential heir or my wife), have Daemon make the "good guy" choice despite all our expectations, and have him punished by fate anyways. I don't mean to belabor the point, but if GRRM wrote this, it would take like 4 season of moustache-twirling and good guy murdering to get him to this point. GRRM has his talents, but concise story telling is not one of them.

On top of all that, Larys Strong is like Littlefinger if Littlefinger were an infinitely more interesting and mysterious character rather than yet another moustache twirler. I got the sense when he first showed up all "Oh I'm so harmless, I'm not a knight, I'm just a poor crippled boy!" that he'd be bad news sooner or later, but shit man, his whole speech at the end of E6 was colder than anything I expected.

I guess I just like the slow burn and subtlety compared to GRRM's writing.