House of Dragons

Jarhead0331 · July 30, 2024, 08:17:27 AM

I enjoyed the last episode and hope the finale is a memorable one. Although it is only the second season, I do not see this series surpassing GOT in terms of shear suspense and excitement. No other series, and I mean no other series in the history of film, has caused me to literally jump out of my seat shouting...the Red Wedding...Arya's revenge on House Frey...the death of Oberyn at the hands of the Mountain. The list goes on.

As lackluster as the final season turned out to be, the series overall was simply one of a kind.

Jarhead0331 · August 05, 2024, 11:07:42 AM

Once again, although overall enjoyable, the finale was a disappointment for me. The entire season was literally used to set up follow-on seasons without much consideration for how it would stand on its own. The last few minutes of the finale were literally a trailer for season 3. What the hell? They should have at least included one of the confrontations they've set up and left a cliff hanger with the outcome or some of the other impending battles.

Also, we actually got more time of Daemon in bed! lol Although I will say, that the scene were he swore loyalty to Rhaenyra was pretty epic and long overdue. For me, it was the high point of the season.

What is the deal with Lady Rhaena? I'm lost with her plot line. Why is she running around in the hills and what is the story with the riderless wild dragon?

al_infierno · August 05, 2024, 11:54:26 AM

Yeah, with two disappointing season finales in a row I've swung back around to thinking GoT is the better show.

Grim.Reaper · August 05, 2024, 06:57:42 PM

Yep, total let down. Kept waiting for something exciting to happen and never did.

al_infierno · August 05, 2024, 07:32:28 PM

It would have been a great Episode 8 in a 10-episode season.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 05, 2024, 11:07:42 AMWhat is the deal with Lady Rhaena? I'm lost with her plot line. Why is she running around in the hills and what is the story with the riderless wild dragon?

I was wondering about this too, an article offers this non-spoiler-for-Season-3 explanation:

QuoteRhaena is one of the only members of her family who does not have a dragon that has claimed her, which seems to be a large contribution to her disappointment with being sent to the Vale in the first place. While at the Vale, she confronted its lady about the charred grasslands, suggesting there was a dragon running around the land, despite the lady's fierce insistence that she wanted a dragon to protect the Vale.

Instead of staying put and watching her young relatives, Rhaena decides to leave the Vale to track down the rogue dragon. This is different than what goes down in Fire & Blood, as Rhaena was not originally meant to be the dragon rider for Sheepstealer, the feral dragon roaming around the Vale, but it seems to be a change the showrunners are leaning into for the coming season.

Her decision seems to be setting her up to have a bigger role in Season 3, though whether or not the rogue dragon will become a key player in the Dance of the Dragons remains to be seen. This is a significant deviation from the source novel, so viewers will just have to wait for House of the Dragon to return for its next season to know for sure.

In short, more setup for S3.

https://www.distractify.com/p/why-did-rhaena-leave-the-vale-house-of-the-dragon

EDIT: Also, I've been watching through GOT again and realized they straight-up spoil HOTD early in Season 3... :D

al_infierno · September 05, 2024, 12:16:24 AM

Did anyone see the blog post GRRM wrote about HOTD? It's gone now, but he went into a surprising amount of detail about his issues with the show, considering how tight-lipped he was about GOT.

This bit was saved on Twitter with regards to the Blood and Cheese scene:

Quote"I still believe the scene in the book is stronger. The readers have the right of that. The two killers are crueler in the book. I thought the actors who played the killers on the show were excellent... but the characters are crueler, harder, and more frightening in FIRE & BLOOD. In the show, Blood is a gold cloak. In the book, he is a former gold cloak, stripped of his office for beating a woman to death. Book Blood is the sort of man who might think making a woman choose which of her sons should die is amusing, especially when they double down on the wanton cruelty by murdering the boy she tries to save. Book Cheese is worse too; he does not kick a dog, true, but he does not have a dog, and he's the one who tells Maelor that his mom wants him head. I would also suggest that Helaena shows more courage, more strength in the book, by offering her own own life to save her son. Offering a piece of jewelry is just not the same."

EDIT: I found a GDoc with the whole deleted post, for those interested: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bmVIrsb0tKk6y6DP0LOz5lymPDrWEh-SZsBig1hn0aw/edit

al_infierno · July 01, 2026, 09:09:49 PM

Anyone been watching Season 3? The first 2 episodes were good, but they really should have been episodes 9 & 10 of season 2.

Really cool naval battle put to screen in the first episode with some boarding action. Makes me wish we got more of that kind of thing with big budgets like the days of Master & Commander or even Pirates of the Caribbean.

Oh, and if you were concerned if that YouTuber who can't act was going to get a lot of screen time -- well, let's just say you can put that worry to bed.

Jarhead0331 · July 01, 2026, 09:19:20 PM

Haven't seen episode two yet, but episode one definitely started with a bang.

al_infierno · July 13, 2026, 07:02:42 PM

The Dry Devil from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 makes an appearance in the latest episode!

I'm enjoying this season a lot so far.

Jarhead0331 · July 13, 2026, 08:06:00 PM

Im on trial so im very far behind. I'll binge watch as soon as i can.

al_infierno · August 17, 2026, 08:40:23 PM

Season 3 really ended with a bang. The last episode has some of the coolest medieval siege warfare on film that I've seen in a hot minute.

But the fact that the first and last episodes were both battles really highlights a major issue with the show: The pacing is totally wonky. Back in the glory GOT days, the siege would have been Episode 9, and then there'd been an Episode 10 aftermath where you get to see everyone's reactions to the latest developments. Instead, we have to wait another two years to get an idea how things are going to pan out going forward.

Just as a comparison, at the end of Season 1 of GOT there was as pretty obvious closing of the chapter: Ned's dead, now we gotta take King's Landing and kill the Lannisters. At the end of Season 2, you have the Lannisters slipping the noose and cementing their position with a new alliance while the White Walkers (slowly) close in. And so on.

This show feels much more like a classic pulp serial where each season leaves off on a cliffhanger that leaves you wanting more. Take that for what you will, but I do miss 10-episode seasons.

EDIT: Oh, and the soundtrack for the final battle of the season was nuts, too.