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

atkar83 said:
It's five full unfinished books vs a few chapters. There just aren't enough characters to have a bunch of peripherals at this point, but it is a cool story that'll be told differently to GoT
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I meant that even the peripheral characters in GOT had much more about them than the mains in HOD.

Tyrion said:
You're right about the peripheral characters. This show has focused entirely on the one extended family and there's no one like Bronn, Hound or Jaqen Haghar. But it does show how all these people get to the point of wanting to kill each other. It's all about the tension and mistrust building. S1 of GOT was similar. This show covered 19 years so I'm not sure how it didn't have stuff happening.
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Stuff happened. It just wasn’t that interesting. Nor do I find myself caring either way whether anyone lives or dies. It’s pretty slow and boring with very little meaningful character development. Unlike GOT where important characters I was actually invested in were dying in the first season. I just think it’s pretty shit in general, especially compared to GOT.
 
EtH said:
I meant that even the peripheral characters in GOT had much more about them than the mains in HOD.



Stuff happened. It just wasn’t that interesting. Nor do I find myself caring either way whether anyone lives or dies. It’s pretty slow and boring with very little meaningful character development. Unlike GOT where important characters I was actually invested in were dying in the first season. I just think it’s pretty shit in general, especially compared to GOT.
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Which characters died in the first season apart from Ned?

And the entire thing is character development.
 
Tyrion said:
Iirc, Harwin was one of the guys looking at her when she walked back into the camp covered in blood from killing the boar. She was definitely on his radar by that point based on the look he gave.
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He was but don't think he put himself forward for her. And his father wouldn't have put him forward. Don't think they wanted to be involved that way as Lord Strong was Hand at that point and wanted things above board.
 
Redlambs said:
Yeah, because he has such a great track record with ending things properly...
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Well, as I stated earlier. I do have concerns about how the series will end as well.

But the only reason why GoT was good was because GRRM's source material. Once they ran out of books to make the series, it ran out of steam.

It also helps that HotD will not last as long as GoT because there simply isn't that much material to begin with. So they'll be forced to end it soon.

All we know is the going is still good. So here's to hoping.
 
Tyrion said:
Which characters died in the first season apart from Ned?

And the entire thing is character development.
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Ned, Robert Baratheon, Drogo, Viserys and even Syrio Forel were meaningful deaths in the first season. Also Lady’s death bothered me more than anyone in HOD dying possibly could. So no, it’s not all character development. Or if it is it’s shit.
 
It's a really good show but I would agree I don't find myself caring much about any character. I cared more about the dragon dying than the kid who's name I do not know
 
roseguy64 said:
He was but don't think he put himself forward for her. And his father wouldn't have put him forward. Don't think they wanted to be involved that way as Lord Strong was Hand at that point and wanted things above board.
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Believe that was whilst Otto was still in his stint as the first Hand of the King - Lyonel Strong was still Master of Laws at that point.

Plus the future lord of Harrenhal is surely a more attractive prospect than the old af lord of Blackhaven or the future lord of Raventree Hall? It's odd that she would have gotten to the likes of Dondarrion and Blackwood without hearing a proposal from House Strong - especially given that House Strong at this point is a greater power in the Riverlands than House Blackwood (and this is only amplified by the relative proximity of Harrenhal to Kings's Landing).
 
EtH said:
Ned, Robert Baratheon, Drogo, Viserys and even Syrio Forel were meaningful deaths in the first season. Also Lady’s death bothered me more than anyone in HOD dying possibly could. So no, it’s not all character development. Or if it is it’s shit.
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I think character development doesn't just include dying.
 
EtH said:
Could complain about the latest episode ending or this or that but the simple truth is the character development is shite in comparison to GOT. I literally don’t give a toss about anyone in this show living or dying. The writing is complete piss.
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EtH said:
I really don’t understand the rave reviews at all. The peripheral characters in GOT are infinitely more interesting than any of the main characters in HOD. There is just very little happening in this show.
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Why are you still watching? It's fine by us if you don't, we're not all waiting with bated breath for your opinion.
 
I went into this with very low expectations but thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to season 2.
 
nimic said:
Why are you still watching? It's fine by us if you don't, we're not all waiting with bated breath for your opinion.
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My girlfriend. And I do love the assumed “I speak for everyone on the schoolyard” comment. Well in. Carry on…
 
Its a 6/10 in the main occasionally 7/10 at its best for me so far, which going by its competitors ( ROP, WOT, Shadow and Bone, The Witcher) is really quite good.
 
I thought Jace was going to get decked when he decided to walk in on Daemon's council and tell him not to do anything until his mother is back, not once but twice. :lol:
 
I get what people mean with regards to the characters. But I think comparing it with GoT is always going to be an issue.

If you isolate it on its own, the characters still have intrigue about them but I saw s1 as a big intro of background to the characters before you could fully invest in them due to the time jumps. I think going forward there wont be major actor changes which may make it easier to invest in the characters.
 
Just watched episode 8, genuinely surprised that this show is as good as it is. Great tension throughout the episode.

Paddy Considine surely deserves a nom for this series? He's great.
 
And finished, really good season of tele, with a very strong last 3 episodes.

Have to say the casting for this is pretty much all on point. Love the look of the Valerians in particular, but all the main roles are really well played.

One negative for me would be the sound mixing... Seemed like a lot of the dialogue was either really quiet or mumbled. There was some lines where I had to turn on subtitles cos I genuinely couldn't tell what was being said. Minor gripe though.
 
EtH said:
I meant that even the peripheral characters in GOT had much more about them than the mains in HOD.
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Very true. I find the lack of complexity in the HotD main characters disappointing. The only one who is portrayed as slightly complex, but still easy to figure out, is Daemon.

In GoT there were much more main characters each season yet each had so much depth and nuance. Even the pretty one dimensional psychopath characters like Joffrey, look how hatable he was. But at the same time the cowardly aspect of people like him was always hinted at and then shown clearly at key stages.

In HotD does anyone really hate the new boy king?
 
AlPistacho said:
Very true. I find the lack of complexity in the HotD main characters disappointing. The only one who is portrayed as slightly complex, but still easy to figure out, is Daemon.

In GoT there were much more main characters each season yet each had so much depth and nuance. Even the pretty one dimensional psychopath characters like Joffrey, look how hatable he was. But at the same time the cowardly aspect of people like him was always hinted at and then shown clearly at key stages.

In HotD does anyone really hate the new boy king?
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I don't want to get into book territory and thus will try to be vague (also admins please feel free to delete if I step over the line here), but the focus of this season was always going to be laying the groundwork for this insular conflict within a single family. As the war expands there will be many many interesting characters from different backgrounds across Planetos who get involved.
 
That dragon scene in the last episode was intense and shocking. It has been a while since a scene surprised me like that one did. The size of that thing!
 
Cascarino said:
He's already raped someone and he's sired a bunch of bastards. I wouldn't say I'm his biggest fan!
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I think theres a disconnect with the character because his hateful deeds are done off screen, so he doesnt have as big an impact as someone like Joffrey did. Yes, we dont like him. But we dont hate him either. Joffrey was a proper cnut, and his cnuty behaviour was given a very large spot light for Jack Gleeson to absolutely shine in. Aegon on the other hand, all we see are the results of what hes done. Couple this with the multitude of actors in the role, and it's a lot harder to get the same emotional response that Jack got in Thrones. We watched Joffrey killing Ros, and we fecking hated him for it. Not just the fact he did it, but how he did it. If they want the audience to have even half the reaction to Aegon that people had to Joffery, they are going to have to show us his cnuty behaviour in action.
 
TheMagicFoolBus said:
I don't want to get into book territory and thus will try to be vague (also admins please feel free to delete if I step over the line here), but the focus of this season was always going to be laying the groundwork for this insular conflict within a single family. As the war expands there will be many many interesting characters from different backgrounds across Planetos who get involved.
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But the characters we have already been shown from the main family are lacking depth and complexity. What’s the likelihood that this will change in future season if even more characters come into mix.
 
Cascarino said:
He's already raped someone and he's sired a bunch of bastards. I wouldn't say I'm his biggest fan!
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Exactly! And still he doesn’t bring about the same hatred as Joffrey, primarily because he’s pretty much just a cardboard character.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
Well yeah. His own family and most of the people watching the show, surely.
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People are forgetting. The investment the audience had in the GoT characters. It was some next level stuff, when Joffrey chocked it people watching literally jumped up cheering as if their team had scored a winning goal.
 
AlPistacho said:
People are forgetting. The investment the audience had in the GoT characters. It was some next level stuff, when Joffrey chocked it people watching literally jumped up cheering as if their team had scored a winning goal.
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People aren’t forgetting, they just aren’t expecting a GoT facsimile with cheap Joeffry, Tyrion, and Arya imitations (to name a few). And the show is better for it, otherwise it would just be a copycat.

That said, it could use some of the comic relief and wit that Tyrion/Bronn and Arya/The Hound provided.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
People aren’t forgetting, they just aren’t expecting a GoT facsimile with cheap Joeffry, Tyrion, and Arya imitations (to name a few). And the show is better for it, otherwise it would just be a copycat.

That said, it could use some of the comic relief and wit that Tyrion/Bronn and Arya/The Hound provided.
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Having character depth, doesn’t mean the characters have to be imitations of GoT characters.

Just give the characters more nuance and complexity so the audience can truly love or hate them. Force the audience to choose a side.

Right now Daemon and Aemond are the two most talked about characters and it’s mostly for “aesthetic” reasons and “he can keep his tongue” is the most memorable line from the series.
 
Norman Brownbutter said:
I think theres a disconnect with the character because his hateful deeds are done off screen, so he doesnt have as big an impact as someone like Joffrey did. Yes, we dont like him. But we dont hate him either. Joffrey was a proper cnut, and his cnuty behaviour was given a very large spot light for Jack Gleeson to absolutely shine in. Aegon on the other hand, all we see are the results of what hes done. Couple this with the multitude of actors in the role, and it's a lot harder to get the same emotional response that Jack got in Thrones. We watched Joffrey killing Ros, and we fecking hated him for it. Not just the fact he did it, but how he did it. If they want the audience to have even half the reaction to Aegon that people had to Joffery, they are going to have to show us his cnuty behaviour in action.
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Not just that. But they also showed that he was a coward who was easily scared and deep down was pretty insecure. So it made people hate him even more when he acted the big man.

In contrast Ramsey while equally evil and arguably did more evil things but was not hated to the same extent. In fact he had a few fans (kinda like Ted Bundy) the reason was he was shown to be mostly competent, able to lead/rule , his only insecurity was being a bastard and getting his father’s approval.
 
Norman Brownbutter said:
I think theres a disconnect with the character because his hateful deeds are done off screen, so he doesnt have as big an impact as someone like Joffrey did. Yes, we dont like him. But we dont hate him either. Joffrey was a proper cnut, and his cnuty behaviour was given a very large spot light for Jack Gleeson to absolutely shine in. Aegon on the other hand, all we see are the results of what hes done. Couple this with the multitude of actors in the role, and it's a lot harder to get the same emotional response that Jack got in Thrones. We watched Joffrey killing Ros, and we fecking hated him for it. Not just the fact he did it, but how he did it. If they want the audience to have even half the reaction to Aegon that people had to Joffery, they are going to have to show us his cnuty behaviour in action.
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AlPistacho said:
Exactly! And still he doesn’t bring about the same hatred as Joffrey, primarily because he’s pretty much just a cardboard character.
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Ah I see what you both mean, I misinterpreted the original post.
 
AlPistacho said:
But the characters we have already been shown from the main family are lacking depth and complexity. What’s the likelihood that this will change in future season if even more characters come into mix.
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I don't want to get into spoilers but I would say it is extremely likely and I'd leave it at that.
 
According to GRRM, the most likely release window for season 2 is April/May 2024!

Thats way too long. What if I die!?

Gah.
 
AlPistacho said:
In HotD does anyone really hate the new boy king?
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Yeah and his brother and the Queen's Sworn Shield and the Hand. It's the main reason I'm Team Black there's not really anyone I like on Team Green. I kind of feel sorry for Alicent but that can't overcome my dislike for the rest of her family.
It might all change in season 2 if they become more nuanced then I might start feeling for them but at the moment they are that family from hell that lives around the corner that everybody dislikes but is slightly intimidated by.
 
Fully Fledged said:
Yeah and his brother and the Queen's Sworn Shield and the Hand. It's the main reason I'm Team Black there's not really anyone I like on Team Green. I kind of feel sorry for Alicent but that can't overcome my dislike for the rest of her family.
It might all change in season 2 if they become more nuanced then I might start feeling for them but at the moment they are that family from hell that lives around the corner that everybody dislikes but is slightly intimidated by.
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Alicent is a nutter, she wanted to take a kids eye out
 
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