Board 8 > House of the Dragon

(+) Yeah! (+)

Pretty surprised there wasn't already a topic.

I didn't watch the last few seasons of GoT for obvious reasons, it doesn't seem like that matters here at all. Thought it was a pretty strong premier!

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I didn't watch the last few seasons of GoT for obvious l, doesn't seem like Tha tatters here at all. Though it was a pretty strong premier!

agreed it was a strong premiere, if not as gripping as Game of Thrones premiere because it's a lot more limited in its scope

although you absolutely should watch the last few seasons of GoT. Give yourself a chance to form your own opinions on them instead of just being turned off by angry dudes on the internet. They're flawed but there's still a lot of excellent TV in there even if certain plot points were rushed

Man I mangled that post lol, cleaned it up.

Johnbobb posted...

agreed it was a strong premiere, if not as gripping as Game of Thrones premiere because it's a lot more limited in its scope

although you absolutely should watch the last few seasons of GoT. Give yourself a chance to form your own opinions on them instead of just being turned off by angry dudes on the internet. They're flawed but there's still a lot of excellent TV in there even if certain plot points were rushed

Counterpoint - Don't.

I'm waiting to see reactions to the entire season 1 before even thinking about watching it because of how awful GoT ended

GoT is kind of like a Disneyland ride. You wait in a long ass line only to feel little disappointed after its all done - like, that was it? Yet I still enjoy Disneyland.

First episode of HotD was good though, I thought.

episode 1 was surprisingly good. the limited scope means the highs will inevitably be a lot lower. but so far i love the main cast (viserys, rhaenyra, and daemon)

the editing style is even more cinematic than GoT's, especially more than those early seasons of GoT. show is going to rely pretty heavily on that "film-like" quality over just writing, which makes me excited for spectacle but very worried for its actual quality a

daemon getting unhorsed was a pretty thrilling action sequence but cutting it with childbirth was distractingly artsy

so yeah i can't help myself from getting a little hype. going to try to be very measured though given how the past has gone, Woodbury when they leaned into spectacle over writing before

Aecioo posted...

Counterpoint - Don't.

I'm waiting to see reactions to the entire season 1 before even thinking about watching it because of how awful GoT ended

Pretty much the entire production team is different so I don't think I'd let the awfulness of GoT get in the way

I can already tell Daemon is right. Hightower is snake af.

Corrik7 posted...

I can already tell Daemon is right. Hightower is snake af.

No he was the Lizard

scarletspeed7 posted...

No he was the Lizard

not a huge fan of this reboot, I preferred Tobey Maguire

Hot D

Feels like this is going to be a hard sell. I asked my college students today how many people watched this and out of about 75 I got 1

Have absolutely no interest at all

It was alright. I feel they're already trying to outdo GoT in the violence and sex department like they're compensating for something though. Not as gripping as GoT's first episode, and I can't find much in the way of likeable characters.

lordjers posted...

It was alright. I feel they're already trying to outdo GoT in the violence and sex department like they're compensating for something though.

They've already said way less sex!

house of the dragon character ranking as of one episode

1. daemon
2. princess who's the new heir
3. old man king back wound
4. the woman daemon was hooking up with even though she's probably gonna be this show's shae calling it now
5. princess' friend who seems nice I guess
6. the woman who would be queen and her husband
7. that boring dude that beat daemon in a fight
8. princess' friend's creepy dad who tells her to go "cheer up the king in his chambers" like wtf dude

colliding posted...

Feels like this is going to be a hard sell. I asked my college students today how many people watched this and out of about 75 I got 1

It had a bigger premier than GoT episode 1.

Never underestimate the casual viewership!

UshiromiyaEva posted...

It had a bigger premier than GoT episode 1.

Does that mean much? The reputation of GoT was just based on books at the time.

Yeah some casuals even thought season 8 was good

10 million viewers is like 5 times what GoT episode 1 did. I'll be happy if this show is good and does well, but I'm in no rush to see it.

Johnbobb posted...

agreed it was a strong premiere, if not as gripping as Game of Thrones premiere because it's a lot more limited in its scope

although you absolutely should watch the last few seasons of GoT. Give yourself a chance to form your own opinions on them instead of just being turned off by angry dudes on the internet. They're flawed but there's still a lot of excellent TV in there even if certain plot points were rushed

Counterpoint: I genuinely wish I had never watched GoT season 7/8.

pjbasis posted...

Does that mean much? The reputation of GoT was just based on books at the time.

Game of Thrones episode 1 was a pretty big deal when it came out, marketing was insane.

This had 10 million viewers which is the largest premier of anything in the history of HBO.

I just saw it

I was wary after what happened with GoT and it got through a tremendous amount in one episode, but I liked it overall.

Good stuff so far, they followed the established story very closely.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Good stuff so far, they followed the established story very closely.

This is the key point.

GoT was fine until they needed to create their own material, when it followed the books it was great.

I was almost sure Rhaenyra had something going on with her friend Alicent but I guess not?

PerfectChaosZ posted...

I was almost sure Rhaenyra had something going on with her friend Alicent but I guess not?

you're definitely not the only one

Seemed gay as hell to me.

I don't know anything at all about GoT lore, I assumed I was supposed to interpret that as such!

colliding posted...

Feels like this is going to be a hard sell. I asked my college students today how many people watched this and out of about 75 I got 1

I think if you would have asked after the first ep of GoT you'd have gotten the same answer. I was playing with my DnD group Sunday and no one brought it up. I don't think any of them were aware it was out. It's only the first ep and literally hasn't had a chance for any hype to build up (I just tonight heard the first ad for it I've come across on the radio). My guess is the other 74 didn't skip it because they were upset about the end of GoT, but rather that most of them didn't know it had even premiered.

That may be it's own problem considering they spent like 500 bajillion dollars on marketing.

But we're living in an age where so many people don't leave the house and pay for ad free streaming that sometime the marketing can't reach.

Another banger!

Amazed by home much happens in a single episode of this show.

Yeah there were definitely feelings between those two, if that ending didn't make it clear enough

i liked the episode. rhaenyra is definitely likable. hope they branch out the story a bit though - keeping the scope this tight limits the shows potential imo

otto's sneering insults to daemon were so incredibly enjoyable. he really channeled ser courtnay penrose absolutely rising stannis in his sole scene

Sheathe your fucking steel was such a great delivery

ChichiriMuyo posted...

most of them didn't know it had even premiered.

I don't think I've seen it mentioned outside of this topic, but to be fair I am not the target demo

AriaOfBolo posted...

I don't think I've seen it mentioned outside of this topic, but to be fair I am not the target demo

i get the impression this show is more low-discussion, high-viewer at the moment

i don't think beyond hardcore fans it's inspiring a ton of passion. fans who were put off by the end of S8 are watching with more caution than hype. i would consider myself a pretty big GOT fan and there have been moments i've liked in HOTD so far, but i've definitely been pretty reticent to get too swept up in it. (i haven't read F&B but the fact that the ending is known is also a limiting factor in the hype; i definitely got more excited when GOT shot past the source material, even though the show got infinitely worse)

I feel this is the rare kind of show where the target demographic is basically everyone. I have definitely not only seen a lot of people I know talking about this but also just heard chatter on the bus and so on.

Anyway, Im partway through episode 2 and this is great so far. This is really going to benefit from having a well defined end point.

PerfectChaosZ posted...

They spent the whole episode saying that Rhaenyra wasnt happy about her dad getting married but had a stiff upper lip about it but as soon as its Alicent shes fleeing the room in tears. There is no Herero explanation for this. I hope its canon.

Um, a very easy explanation.

She was okay with his decision when it made sense for the kingdom in strengthening it with a needed ally of strength. She knew it was a king decision for the kingdom. With Allicent, it is not. Not to mention, he never discussed her with him and this decision reeks of the fact her best friend has been lying to her and keeping stuff from her also. She is pissed at both parties for how they treated her and disrespected her.

Thanks Corrik I really needed that explanation

I know which plot point Corrik is complaining about without even seeing the post!

PerfectChaosZ posted...

Thanks Corrik I really needed that explanation

Yw

Corrik7 posted...

Um, a very easy explanation.

She was okay with his decision when it made sense for the kingdom in strengthening it with a needed ally of strength. She knew it was a king decision for the kingdom. With Allicent, it is not. Not to mention, he never discussed her with him and this decision reeks of the fact her best friend has been lying to her and keeping stuff from her also. She is pissed at both parties for how they treated her and disrespected her.

That, plus the sudden realization that her best friend is gonna be her step-mother and make babies with her dad. But who knows, friends can't just be friends these days.

There are definitely hetero reasons for her to react like that

...but they definitely aren't the only reasons she did

hearing on podcasts that alicent's actress is queer and was playing the relationship as if they were more than friends. so yeah the vibes your picking up on were put out there. but they still have to be inferred; they are not yet (and at this point will likely never be) explicit

though for a change i didn't particularly get that vibe, and recently i have been very stunned when showrunners are trying to create romantic subtext

Thats interesting! It likely wont happen but it would put a twist in the tale. But come on, whats more sapphic than sitting under a tree together at a picnic wearing beautiful dresses with her head in her lap and the other one reading to her?

I also got vibes. The thing is, the narrative can work without it. However, it adds an extra dimension of depth if you pick up on it. I dont think its a case of friends cant just be friends, Ive always hated that as a trope (but its worse with opposite gender friends because you know, heteronormativity) but here it feels more of a deliberate layer in addition, not opposition, to everything else going on in that scene.

SeabassDebeste posted...

hearing on podcasts that alicent's actress is queer and was playing the relationship as if they were more than friends. so yeah the vibes your picking up on were put out there. but they still have to be inferred; they are not yet (and at this point will likely never be) explicit

though for a change i didn't particularly get that vibe, and recently i have been very stunned when showrunners are trying to create romantic subtext

If only her played it that way that would imply at most the thirstiness is one-way or that she's the needy one, and we've also seen that she has not much of a problem in becoming the queen thus distancing from Rhaenyra. If it had been the Rhaenyra actress playing it that way then it'd make more sense.

I felt more chemistry between Alicent and the king, as again, I don't see her struggling at all in the role that her dad put her into, unless she either respects her dad that much or she somehow really is that power hungry taking precedence over any other feelings.

lordjers posted...

If only her played it that way that would imply at most the thirstiness is one-way or that she's the needy one, and we've also seen that she has not much of a problem in becoming the queen thus distancing from Rhaenyra. If it had been the Rhaenyra actress playing it that way then it'd make more sense

yeah, with you there. the editing and directing is also obviously contributing to people's impression

lordjers posted...

If only her played it that way that would imply at most the thirstiness is one-way or that she's the needy one, and we've also seen that she has not much of a problem in becoming the queen thus distancing from Rhaenyra. If it had been the Rhaenyra actress playing it that way then it'd make more sense.

I felt more chemistry between Alicent and the king, as again, I don't see her struggling at all in the role that her dad put her into, unless she either respects her dad that much or she somehow really is that power hungry taking precedence over any other feelings.

What? I haven't felt any chemistry between Alicent and the king, and her father is obviously verging on being super pedo-incest-creepy dad which makes me wonder if he hasn't done something to her before. She's obviously doing it just because her dad is awful.

PerfectChaosZ posted...

What? I haven't felt any chemistry between Alicent and the king, and her father is obviously verging on being super pedo-incest-creepy dad which makes me wonder if he hasn't done something to her before. She's obviously doing it just because her dad is awful.

Well if she was supposed to be wanting to NOT be elected, which would permanently relieve her of her "duties",I didn't see it. It remains to be seen if there's sexual attraction, but at the very least she doesn't seem to mind the king's company and giving him advice. There's some sort of tension from her part, but that can be read as just there been high expectations of her doing well.

And the king chose her after all, against the other candidate who politically would've potentially given him far less trouble.

Hoooooboy that's a take