Game of Thrones - House of the Dragon [HBO]

[Holman]

I just want 20, maybe 30 percent less incest.

[Targaryen]
But... that's... that's like our Thing, man.
[/Targaryen]

[Jeff V]

I just want 20, maybe 30 percent less incest.

[Targaryen]
But... that's... that's like our Thing, man.
[/Targaryen]

How else to maintain the selective purple eyes mutation? Let them breed among the masses and they'll all be shit brown (in the words of a brown-eyed girl I once knew) in no time.

[hepcat]

Van Morrison has reserved a beating for you at around 7pm. Please be prompt.

[Smoove_B]

Was I the only one watching last night? I enjoyed it. I have no history or experience with the source materials (haven't read a GRRM book since a Storm of Swords back in the early 2000s) so maybe I'm in the target audience for this show? I also don't have any opinions on Matt Smith but thought he was great in the first episode. I'm curious to see where it's all going and how it's going to differentiate itself from the original series. They've already established connections, so I guess we'll see...

[Unagi]

I'm waiting to hear what Daehawk makes of the reaction videos before I give it a chance.

[Jaymann]

I'm waiting to hear what Daehawk makes of the reaction videos before I give it a chance.

And I eagerly await your reaction to his reaction to the reactors.

[Chraolic]

Was I the only one watching last night?

I watched it today. I don't believe I've seen that much bleached hair since the 90s, but at least there seems to be a good story behind it. I thought it was weird that they used the choral GoT theme from the final episode for the end credits, though. I get the feeling that they desperately want to connect the two shows any way they can, but it was so deliberately used for the very end of GoT that it felt a bit out of place.

[$iljanus]

It's probably a good idea if Matt Smith isn't on the Iron Throne but I do like his character.

It's no Sandman but I'll keep watching. I'll admit it was kinda nice being back in Westros.

[ImLawBoy]

It's a promising start. I haven't read the source material, but from the sounds of things they're going to have to stray pretty far from that anyway since it was written as more of a history than in the style of Song of Ice and Fire.

[hepcat]

I'm going to watch it tonight. But I swear to God, the moment someone says "Hey sis, you're lookin' fine!" , I'm outta there.

Was I the only one watching last night?

I watched it today. I don't believe I've seen that much bleached hair since the 90s, but at least there seems to be a good story behind it.

The tour bus for Poison accidentally entered a wormhole and ended up in Westeros, and using the power of ROCK they were able to form a dynasty of pasty, hair metal aficionados who ruled through power chords and leather cod pieces?

[Carpet_pissr]

My wife never watched GoT - wondering if watch order matters here?

Unrelated: I demand a Dunk n’ Egg series, but would accept a movie since it’s relatively short.

[Smoove_B]

The tour bus for Poison accidentally entered a wormhole and ended up in Westeros, and using the power of ROCK they were able to form a dynasty of pasty, hair metal aficionados who ruled through power chords and leather cod pieces?

A more coherent story than the entirety of Twilight.

[Carpet_pissr]

I'm going to watch it tonight. But I swear to God, the moment someone says "Hey sis, you're lookin' fine!" , I'm outta there.

Was I the only one watching last night?

I watched it today. I don't believe I've seen that much bleached hair since the 90s, but at least there seems to be a good story behind it.

The tour bus for Poison accidentally entered a wormhole and ended up in Westeros, and using the power of ROCK they were able to form a dynasty of pasty, hair metal aficionados who ruled through power chords and leather cod pieces?

Would watch the absolute shit out of that.

[Zarathud]

The tour bus for Poison accidentally entered a wormhole and ended up in Westeros, and using the power of ROCK they were able to form a dynasty of pasty, hair metal aficionados who ruled through power chords and leather cod pieces?

I would watch that. I’m pretty sure there was a video game with Jack Black. Brutal Legend?

[hepcat]

Spoiler:

"I know you've probably heard this from a lot of guys trying to pick you up....but aren't we related?"

Edit: watching it now. Was this thing filmed in Dark-O-Vision? Also, the Doctor having nasty sex is more disturbing than I thought it would be for me.

Edit 2: I know I’m a horrible person for this, but every time they show Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, I see Feral Kid from The Road Warrior.

Spoiler:

Edit 3: it’s not bad, but I don’t see anything that makes it stand out so far. It just seems like a rehash of GoT in many ways. The characters are basically all falling into the same roles as their predecessors from that show too. I was hoping for something a little more original. And naming the villain Daemon? Really? Why not just go with Dr. Evil?

But it’s early. There may be some twists and turns yet. And the cast needs time to gel, I imagine.

[JCC]

Thought the first episode was great!

[hepcat]

I will say that I liked the previews before the show as they confirmed there’s a new season of Doom Patrol coming.

[Jaymann]

I'm starting to suspect that Daemon fellow is not to be trusted.

[Sudy]

He's a real jerk!

I agree the use of GoT's theme seemed odd if they're trying to differentiate this series, but I guess they're not, or are at least pandering to the more superficial fans to start. But it's not like it's the only franchise to recycle a great theme.

I thought the plot felt a bit... compressed? I get that we're jumping into the middle of a massive history, but it doesn't have to feel like a textbook. I thought many of the characters needed more time to be introduced. The world is already so dense, but in a confusing way. I'd like to presume this is just setup for the actual story they're going to be telling, but it seems to be obvious what the initial conflict will be.

[Carpet_pissr]

I hope they don't focus on dragons, which they do in the trailer.

Not sure if serious.

[McNutt]

Yes, I was serious. The dragons weren't the draw in GoT. They were an important part of the plot, but I wasn't watching the show to see dragons flying through the sky. They should not be the focus.

The first show was ok. I agree with Hepcat about the feral boy look. I was also pretty sure there would be a seen of hardcore fucking in the first episode. Stay true to the tone, House of Dragons.

Spoiler:

What in the hell was with the prince "winning" a joust after intentionally hitting the horse? The rules of that tournament made zero sense.

[hepcat]

Yes, I was serious. The dragons weren't the draw in GoT. They were an important part of the plot, but I wasn't watching the show to see dragons flying through the sky. They should not be the focus.

Couldn't agree more. It's the same reason we watched Walking Dead when it first started. The zombies were a fun diversion, but the meat of the story was the survivors.

Spoiler:

What in the hell was with the prince "winning" a joust after intentionally hitting the horse? The rules of that tournament made zero sense.

It served two purposes, I thought:

Spoiler:

1. It made it clear that the prince can get away with almost anything and his brother would just say "oh you" and tussle his hair.

2. For those viewers at home who are the mental equivalent of a squirrel, it helped reinforce the concept that the guy named DAEMON was a villain. Next episode, I wouldn't be surprised if they start putting novelty t-shirts on him with sayings like "Chillin' Villain" and "Bad to the Bone...No Seriously, I'm the villain, people!".

Honestly, the more I think about the show, the more I believe it's just a lazily written cash grab. I really hope they can write themselves out of this derivative and uninspired story, though.

[McNutt]

That was my take too. I don't need such big, flashing lights letting me know who is the bad guy.

I also prefer my characters to be less one dimensional. Would it kill them to have people that aren't the typical evil guys? For example, look at Tywin Lannister. That was a great character. He wasn't some completely evil guy who was out to cut off penises. He did the dirty work necessary to run an empire. Or The Hound. So much better than this guy.

In House of the Dragon we have your run-of-the-mill bad guy who is scheming to grab the power. <yawn>

[hepcat]

Next week they'll introduce DAEMON'S cohorts: Slither, Lord Insidious and Captain Hatred.

[Sudy]

Those are already Star Wars characters.

[hepcat]

Sorry, then it will be Slyther, Lord Insideeus and Captain Haitred.

I want a Hasbro action figure line based on the show now.

Of course, they'd have to be sold behind a curtain at Toys R Us...

[McNutt]

I love Star Wars, but it's not hard to guess who the bad guys are when you have names like Star Destroyers and The Death Star, all controlled by Darth Sidious.

[hepcat]

I've always thought of Star Wars as more of a YA franchise, so I give it some slack when it comes to goofy ass naming conventions. But to do so in a show that tries to present itself as a mature, adult themed look at a fantasy world is a bit too much.

[McNutt]

But to do so in a show that tries to present itself as a mature, adult themed look at a fantasy world is a bit too much.

I think I saw a butthole in the first episode, so they might be on a different track when presenting this as "mature."

[hepcat]

The nudity is one of the reasons I mentioned mature. That's become somewhat of a synonym for adult scenes too.

[Max Peck]

Aren't the character names from GRRM's books? Did the showrunners/writers have a lot of leeway about whether or not "Daemon" is a little too on the nose?

[ImLawBoy]

If anything, the impact of the name is probably less on the show, because unless you've read up on things (or have the closed captioning on) you might think the name is just "Damon".

People seem to be drawing a lot of conclusions about one name and one episode. I know the original GoT series was renowned for having subtly evil characters like Joffrey, and that no characters ever evolved into something deeper/more complex over the course of the series (I was so tired of Jaime being a callous child killer without redeeming value!), but it's possible that this show, which carries the "Game of Thrones" name, will deviate from the "Game of Thrones" mold that the producers are so obviously trying to distance themselves from and end up with some character development.

[Isgrimnur]

[Carpet_pissr]

Daemon was mentioned quite a bit in Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as well - not sure if same version though (there were a few).

[hepcat]

People seem to be drawing a lot of conclusions about one name and one episode.

I do issue the caveat in my first post about the show that it's still just the first episode and that I hope they get better. I just found the initial episode to be full of two dimensional characters, obvious plot points, and a decidedly derivative story. However, they could just be setting the table with these characters in preparation for pulling the tablecloth out from under it all. I will hold out hope that such is the case.

In the meantime though, I reserve the right to continue to giggle over the Star Wars level naming convention, seeing Doctor Who doing weirdly fast sex thrusts with the female version of Little Finger, watching the King doing his best Francis Underwood impersonation while playing with miniatures in his room, and wondering why in real life, we went from muskets to laser guided rockets in 200 years, but the furthest Westeros has advanced in that same time frame is 2 foot long swords...to 3 foot long swords.

Now, when do we get to meet Sir Sinister, leader of the kingdom Evilturia!?!?

[Max Peck]

wondering why in real life, we went from muskets to laser guided rockets in 200 years, but the furthest Westeros has advanced in that same time frame is 2 foot long swords...to 3 foot long swords.

In real life, how far did human technology advance in the thousands of years prior to the last 200 years?

[Jaymann]

Now that GRRM has another series, any chance he will finish the book(s) for the last one? Maybe he wants to improve on the show but can’t.

[ImLawBoy]

People seem to be drawing a lot of conclusions about one name and one episode.

I do issue the caveat in my first post about the show that it's still just the first episode and that I hope they get better. I just found the initial episode to be full of two dimensional characters, obvious plot points, and a decidedly derivative story. However, they could just be setting the table with these characters in preparation for pulling the tablecloth out from under it all. I will hold out hope that such is the case.

I get the fun you're having and I would not expect you to change your stripes - it's fun to read, too. I'm just saying that given the source material and pedigree (and the fact that the show runners who kind of mucked up the end of GoT after running out of source material are not involved), I think House of Dragons gets the benefit of the doubt that there's more going on than what you saw in the first episode.

wondering why in real life, we went from muskets to laser guided rockets in 200 years, but the furthest Westeros has advanced in that same time frame is 2 foot long swords...to 3 foot long swords.

In real life, how far did human technology advance in the thousands of years prior to the last 200 years?

I'm with hepcat on this one. It's a legit (and not uncommon) complaint about the GRR Martin universe that technology has barely moved in the thousands of years of history that he's covered in one form or another.

[hepcat]

wondering why in real life, we went from muskets to laser guided rockets in 200 years, but the furthest Westeros has advanced in that same time frame is 2 foot long swords...to 3 foot long swords.

In real life, how far did human technology advance in the thousands of years prior to the last 200 years?

At least enough so that you could look at a medieval village in the 1300s and see the difference between that and one in the 1500s. The last two hundreds years might be unfair due to some astounding advancements, but there is no discernible difference between the Westeros of House of the Dragon and that of the Game of Thrones. Hell, styles haven't even changed. Think how many different types of noble wear we went through in just 50 years during even the slowest of times.

[Smoove_B]

I think it's been well established that once you have dragons freely integrated into your society, the pressure to develop any new technology or progress in any area freezes. You have dragons...how much better can it get?