Television House of the Dragon (GoT Prequel) - No book spoilers allowed

Fully Fledged said:
I surprised that you ever got into the show in the first place as most of the more memorable scenes from the first five seasons were of people travelling. Arya/The Hound, Tyron/Bronn and Jaimie/Bronn to name but a few.
I'm surprised that you actually like fantasy at all as most of the iconic fantasy series are based solely around the hardships people suffer whist travelling, Lord of the Rings and Wheels of Time to name two.

The problem with the last season of Game of Thrones is not that they cut out the travelling that was fine if that's the way that they wanted to go. It was more that people Insta travelled from one side of the map to the other. Take Euron Greyjoy for example. They showed him in King's Landing then 2 minutes later he was outside Casterly Rock destroying Danny's fleet, two minutes later he was back in King's Landing. The whole idea was so unfeasible as to be comical. Plot holes like that completely destroy the story.
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I’m one of many people who enjoyed GoT despite not being into fantasy at all (although I did read/enjoy Lord of the Rings) What made the show such a phenomenon was the fact it was able to appeal to people like me.

If a journey is part of the narrative then that’s fine. What baffles me is people cross-referencing maps and calculating exactly how many days must pass, off-screen, before a character is allowed to arrive at their destination. It’s taking nit-picking to ridiculous extremes IMO. To each their own but you need to realise that there’s a lot of people enjoying the show that will be completely mystified by that sort of criticism.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I’m one of many people who enjoyed GoT despite not being into fantasy at all (although I did read/enjoy Lord of the Rings) What made the show such a phenomenon was the fact it was able to appeal to people like me.

If a journey is part of the narrative then that’s fine. What baffles me is people cross-referencing maps and calculating exactly how many days must pass, off-screen, before a character is allowed to arrive at their destination. It’s taking nit-picking to ridiculous extremes IMO. To each their own but you need to realise that there’s a lot of people enjoying the show that will be completely mystified by that sort of criticism.
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I agree with this. It's as if some people think this is live TV.

I mean we skipped 6 months or something between EPs 1 and 2 but skipping a few days during an episode is a no no?

I couldn't be arsed watching Corlys travel to see Daemon on his ship. When Corlys was talking before you seen Daemon, some people wouldn't have clicked on. That was their surprise. The travelling would gave have it away.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of people guessed what was happening anyway, but not everyone.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I’m one of many people who enjoyed GoT despite not being into fantasy at all (although I did read/enjoy Lord of the Rings) What made the show such a phenomenon was the fact it was able to appeal to people like me.

If a journey is part of the narrative then that’s fine. What baffles me is people cross-referencing maps and calculating exactly how many days must pass, off-screen, before a character is allowed to arrive at their destination. It’s taking nit-picking to ridiculous extremes IMO. To each their own but you need to realise that there’s a lot of people enjoying the show that will be completely mystified by that sort of criticism.
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Good post, I relate.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I’m one of many people who enjoyed GoT despite not being into fantasy at all (although I did read/enjoy Lord of the Rings) What made the show such a phenomenon was the fact it was able to appeal to people like me.

If a journey is part of the narrative then that’s fine. What baffles me is people cross-referencing maps and calculating exactly how many days must pass, off-screen, before a character is allowed to arrive at their destination. It’s taking nit-picking to ridiculous extremes IMO. To each their own but you need to realise that there’s a lot of people enjoying the show that will be completely mystified by that sort of criticism.
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My point above wasn't that he insta travelled but that I would have rather seen Rhaenyra's reaction to her best friend and father's betrayal rather than the the last scene in the episode. Then someone asked me why would it take a week to travel to Driftmark so I showed the maths behind it. I had no problem with them skipping the travel to and from Dragonstone as it served no purpose. The episode with Euron though just meant that he could be in two places at once that's just not possible.
 
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Spoony said:
Can I. Please? I'm probably going to binge on this eventually. Only got three eps left of Better Call Saul which is my favourite before finding something else. Hope you're loving House of Dragon. :D
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Pogue Mahone said:
By a margin the most ridiculous criticism of a show like this. Who fecking cares how far apart A and B are? And why the feck would you have any interest in watching people commute?
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I think from a storytelling point of view it definitely feels a bit odd when a multi-day journey occurs off-screen and the rest of the plot/character development/interpersonal stuff just stays in statis until the characters reach their destination. At the same time, travelling scenes are generally a nice, naturalistic way to show off the setting and allow characters to have a revealing conversation in a way that doesn't feel forced. The tendency to cut them 'for time', instead of using them as a good way to build your world, flesh out your characters etc. often feels silly, especially in a fantasy setting where the depth and breadth of the world is one of the main reason people are interested, and a lot of the plot points hinge on the fact that getting from A to B quickly is generally impossible.

Having said that, far from the biggest issue with Game of Thrones, and I haven't been annoyed by it in this show.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
By a margin the most ridiculous criticism of a show like this. Who fecking cares how far apart A and B are? And why the feck would you have any interest in watching people commute?
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For myself, it wasn't the thrill of watching people commute, but the character and plot development that happened en route. The show was granular enough in its detail during the early seasons of GOT that simply seeing the characters live and interact with one another while going from one place to another built compelling TV. It also led to plot developments, like an army being headed in one direction then midway through they get some news that they need to head elsewhere. Or having an army marching off one way while the viewer knows that they'll be walking into a trap, or that the city they're going save has already been razed, etc.

Not to mention, its easy to care how far A and B are apart when Jon Snow is supposed to be half a continent away from Danaerys and then she shows up overnight (even that might be slightly plausible, but not when the messenger had to run back to the wall, send a raven to Danaerys and then have her show up). Utter absurdity.
 
Matt Smith is one of those actors where you’re just watching Matt Smith. A Tom Hanks of television, if you like. He’s a cartoon character in this.

Other than that, and some dodgy (probably unnecessary) CGI, it’s quite good. Rhys Ifans is particularly well suited for his role.
 
Kag said:
Matt Smith is one of those actors where you’re just watching Matt Smith. A Tom Hanks of television, if you like. He’s a cartoon character in this.

Other than that, and some dodgy (probably unnecessary) CGI, it’s quite good. Rhys Ifans is particularly well suited for his role.
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I didn't even realise it was Rhys Ifans until I read this thread today. I kept waiting for him to turn up.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The whore who’s shacking up with Dr Who is really annoying. Not sure if she’s a terrible actor or if she’s just had a really bad dialect coach. Probably both? Either way the sooner she’s killed off the better. Every line of her dialogue sounds preposterous.
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She's like the 'Allo 'Allo policeman. What the feck is that accent?
 
Bebe said:
For myself, it wasn't the thrill of watching people commute, but the character and plot development that happened en route. The show was granular enough in its detail during the early seasons of GOT that simply seeing the characters live and interact with one another while going from one place to another built compelling TV. It also led to plot developments, like an army being headed in one direction then midway through they get some news that they need to head elsewhere. Or having an army marching off one way while the viewer knows that they'll be walking into a trap, or that the city they're going save has already been razed, etc.

Not to mention, its easy to care how far A and B are apart when Jon Snow is supposed to be half a continent away from Danaerys and then she shows up overnight (even that might be slightly plausible, but not when the messenger had to run back to the wall, send a raven to Danaerys and then have her show up). Utter absurdity.
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To be very fair to shows

Most things happens in concruent. What seems to be seconds away in our TV might actually be months in real life (real life?)

And it's easy for us to see they're heading for a trap because we the audiences sees everything first hand even bedroom talks of the main actors. We would hardly knew anything if we only see things from one perspective

And it tooks Jon weeks to reach his destination. Danny might have a change of mind 1 week after and make up the distance with dragons.
 
I wasn’t very optimistic for this but I’m hooked. I loved the stand off at Dragonstone. Feels like it’s all steadily building up to something.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The whore who’s shacking up with Dr Who is really annoying. Not sure if she’s a terrible actor or if she’s just had a really bad dialect coach. Probably both? Either way the sooner she’s killed off the better. Every line of her dialogue sounds preposterous.
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I had this same thought - first thought was she's a terrible actor, but then I figured that might be harsh and it's probably just down to whoever's coaching her as English clearly isn't her first language.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
I had this same thought - first thought was she's a terrible actor, but then I figured that might be harsh and it's probably just down to whoever's coaching her as English clearly isn't her first language.
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I wonder what her nationality is? If she’s not English she should just talk with her own accent. Instead of the mangled mish mash of at least three different accents she’s gone for.
 
How do we know what accents are supposed to sound like in a fantasy world?

For what it's worth, I found her performance strange as well.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The whore who’s shacking up with Dr Who is really annoying. Not sure if she’s a terrible actor or if she’s just had a really bad dialect coach. Probably both? Either way the sooner she’s killed off the better. Every line of her dialogue sounds preposterous.
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She's crap. Was in an Alex Garland show called Devs, which was good, but her as the main character was baaaaad.

Her French (I assume it's French?) accent is shocking.
Annihilate Now! said:
I had this same thought - first thought was she's a terrible actor, but then I figured that might be harsh and it's probably just down to whoever's coaching her as English clearly isn't her first language.
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Pogue Mahone said:
I wonder what her nationality is? If she’s not English she should just talk with her own accent. Instead of the mangled mish mash of at least three different accents she’s gone for.
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She's American.
 
Massive Spanner said:
She's crap. Was in an Alex Garland show called Devs, which was good, but her as the main character was baaaaad.

Her French (I assume it's French?) accent is shocking.


She's American.
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Oh it's her. Yeah, she wasn't great in Devs either.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I wonder what her nationality is? If she’s not English she should just talk with her own accent. Instead of the mangled mish mash of at least three different accents she’s gone for.
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Accent criticism is just one step below the time taken to travel criticisms. Maybe she's Dornish, Maybe she's a refugee to Kings Landing from one of the isles which causes her to mism mash accents.
 
Massive Spanner said:
She's American.
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She's Japanese British. What I found interesting is that the character in the books is supposed to have pasty white skin and hair, and generally looks miserable, so people called her Lady Misery. Quite the change in the show, though she nails that last part nicely.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The whore who’s shacking up with Dr Who is really annoying. Not sure if she’s a terrible actor or if she’s just had a really bad dialect coach. Probably both? Either way the sooner she’s killed off the better. Every line of her dialogue sounds preposterous.
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She was in Devs and was easily the worst part about that show. Awful actress.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The whore who’s shacking up with Dr Who is really annoying. Not sure if she’s a terrible actor or if she’s just had a really bad dialect coach. Probably both? Either way the sooner she’s killed off the better. Every line of her dialogue sounds preposterous.
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Keep on wishing i think she has a bigger role with her name being on the billed cast more than simply extras
 
Kag said:
Matt Smith is one of those actors where you’re just watching Matt Smith. A Tom Hanks of television, if you like. He’s a cartoon character in this.

Other than that, and some dodgy (probably unnecessary) CGI, it’s quite good. Rhys Ifans is particularly well suited for his role.
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I have a feeling Daemon isnt the badguy. He's too gray for being the ultimate baddies
 
Also really enjoyed the first two episodes - think it moves at a decent pace, and it's quite nice to watch a Game of Thrones show where things get set-up and then resolved in the very next scene.

As an aside, you'd have figured Paddy Considine would have mentioned to his daughter that he wants to marry her best mate... you know, as a bit of a courtesy?
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Also really enjoyed the first two episodes - think it moves at a decent pace, and it's quite nice to watch a Game of Thrones show where things get set-up and then resolved in the very next scene.

As an aside, you'd have figured Paddy Considine would have mentioned to his daughter that he wants to marry her best mate... you know, as a bit of a courtesy?
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I think he is just dumb and assumed she would take that better than him marrying a 12 year old.
 
Sky1981 said:
I have a feeling Daemon isnt the badguy. He's too gray for being the ultimate baddies
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I don't think the show has "good" or "bad" people, unlike GoT which had cartoon villains, HotD it's just a bunch of cousins out to kill each other and get to the top.

I think it's based on the war of the roses or the Anarchy more than anything
 
fishfingers15 said:
Accent criticism is just one step below the time taken to travel criticisms. Maybe she's Dornish, Maybe she's a refugee to Kings Landing from one of the isles which causes her to mism mash accents.
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She’s so bad it takes you right out of the scene. Her accent isn’t even internally consistent. She might say the same word two or three different ways in the same scene.
 
foolsgold said:
I don't think the show has "good" or "bad" people, unlike GoT which had cartoon villains, HotD it's just a bunch of cousins out to kill each other and get to the top.

I think it's based on the war of the roses or the Anarchy more than anything
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Daemon isnt even bad. He's just that immature youngster most family has. A show of force here and there, a rebel every so often.
 
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