HBO's House of the Dragon

[a-dev]

You need to create…

Me Too Me Too Me Too

I will reinforce my clicky lol reaction with a post of for that one.

 

[Heavy Metal Spike]

. . . going to a pain specialist . . .

Some folks pay good money for that

Joking aside - hope you get some progress & good news tomorrow - make sure you go in with a printed list of ALL your questions - and don't leave until they have ALL been answered (it's easy to forget stuff in the heat of the moment - and we all know how tough it can be to get medical appointments these days).

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[jye4ever]

Just not really feeling this show.

The drama is dumb because it’s all based off stupidity.

No way in hell did she think she was going to marry a black guy then have white kids with a white lover and not think anyone wouldn’t notice, please.

The king is retarded lol

Then her leaving to dragonstone just proved everything anyways.

GOT betrayals were all about nuances this is just blunt force bad writing.

The time jump didn’t help either.

The younger princess was much better than this hag who doesn’t even look like a natural aging of the original actress.

You think HBO knowing they were going to do the time jump they wouldn’t have hired a younger actress with such distinctive facial features that would be difficult to replicate.

 

[ZE_501]

I got hooked by the ... 3rd or 4th episode? But this one left me cold. The new actress doesn't have whatever-her-name's charisma or distinctive look, and people in this episode are at turns stupid and suicidal, which takes us back to more openly bad decisions in earlier episodes, a double-down that's not doing it any favours.

Maybe the next one will be better.

 

[jye4ever]

I got hooked by the ... 3rd or 4th episode? But this one left me cold. The new actress doesn't have whatever-her-name's charisma or distinctive look, and people in this episode are at turns stupid and suicidal, which takes us back to more openly bad decisions in earlier episodes, a double-down that's not doing it any favours.

Maybe the next one will be better.

Yeah that’s exactly my point. GOT backstabbing drama was done so perfectly this is just lazy bad writing.

It’s too on the nose levels of bad decisions and obvious happenings that everyone is just ignoring except the Queen yet she never ratted out Cole from the previous episode.

Nothing makes any sense especially the King lol

Then the biggest offense of all they used the lazy soap opera cheating of having one character listening in on other characters vomiting out critical information.

I have always hated that so cheap lol

I don’t think they did that in GOT did they?

 

[Heavy Metal Spike]

I got a bit bored with episodes 4 & 5, but I thought this one was a bit better. I agree on the actress though (hopefully she'll grow into the role).

The main problem I had was trying to figure out who was who and whose kids were whose . . . even the hair colour didn't help until about 1/2 way through when I finally figured out what was going on!


.

 

[jye4ever]

Andor might be boring but it’s much better written than this.

Also BAM instant kids!

I’m not caring about instant kids.

 

[jye4ever]

 

[MeatHookGekko]

It’s too on the nose levels of bad decisions and obvious happenings that everyone is just ignoring except the Queen yet she never ratted out Cole from the previous episode.

Nothing makes any sense especially the King lol

The Targaryeans in HOTD make more sense if you imagine them as a modern family but with a long painful streak of apparent mental illness running through it.

Young Queen Alicent was in a bind. She vouched for the Princess. Also she watched her father be deposed for being the bringer of bad news. The series foreshadowed it when Daemon beat down that messenger who told him that a support fleet was coming to help him kill the Crab King. The King clearly just ignores bad news. Which is also a function of his clear mental illness. So what are her choices? Tell the truth, then be shut down and maybe executed? I mean if the King doesn't believe her, then Alicent looks like she's incapable of basic politics and that she's disloyal for ratting out her former best friend. If the King does believe her, to hide the shame, he might have her strangled and then kill off her father for good measure. Instead, Alicent knows she has Cole's loyalty forever. Instead of watching him die too for what gain?

When Older Queen Alicent scolds her son, you could see the lunacy running through that kids eyes the entire time.

This may be why the dragons bind to them as they do. That chaos inside of those nutjobs matches the pure insanity of those dragons. Think about it if you were a dragon in that world, you'd look at one of those blonde haired psychopaths and think "Wow, we got so much in common. Let's play some Wordle together"

There's always been a part of me that felt that Tywin Lannister killed his wife. Tyrion was born and he looked nothing like the other children. Maybe she cheated or Tywin felt she did, and then murdered her. And that might explain why Tyrion was not insane like Joffrey or his brother or his sister. You could even see the shades of that self destructive pathology in Tommen.

These are crazy people, but they are in positions of power. And if they weren't, they are good looking. It's unreal how much good looks operates as currency in all societies across human history.

IMHO, where the show is going, I believe the point is to try to make the audience believe the Princess is the only sane capable one, but in reality, she's actually the most insane. Even Daemon said it this past episode - The price of real power is constant worry and accountability and duty and obligation. The Princess has the title and the seat held for her, but has endured none of the real responsibility or struggle for it. Again, the last episode, Older Alicent is the one to point out that military occupation costs a vast sum of money and it's just not that simple to hold land and castles far away from their power base. Whereas the Princess has it easy to criticize when she's not the one raising coin or dealing with spies or training an army. That also goes back to Dany in Quarth, where she asks for ships but can't explain why to the Lord in front of her why it's a good business decision on his part to help her right then and there.

Something I've learned as I've gotten older - As mentioned before, if you are hot as hell, you can get away with all kinds of crazy for a while. Like Amber Heard. Or if you are funny and interesting, you can also get away with some crazy. What people won't tolerate is ugly and crazy or boring and crazy. Or poor and crazy.

 

[ZE_501]

Good post:

The Targaryeans in HOTD make more sense if you imagine them as a modern family but with a long painful streak of apparent mental illness running through it.

This makes sense but the execution is leaving me cold. It will probably make more sense when future events play out in this series; although I'm also referring to characters like Criston and Harwin ... all of the knights and warriors in this show are over-the-top psychopaths ready to have a go at each other in mere seconds and damn the consequences.

On the one hand kind of 'medieval' sure (actually reminds me more of historical accounts of Viking violence amongst themselves) ... maybe this is meant to be a marker of a more casually violent time period, wherein you have a bunch of trained fighters who haven't seen a lot of combat and take it out on each other, I don't know ... but there's been a lot of head bashing and gutting with seemingly little or no consequence, for a Kingdom that's otherwise pretty advanced albeit feudal and violent.

Maybe it's just a case wherein it's good on paper but less so onscreen, they're in the shadow of GoT ... who knows.

The King clearly just ignores bad news. Which is also a function of his clear mental illness.

I keep wondering how he got to be King and held it, but I guess this is a time of relative peace, he has dragons, and mental illness doesn't always show its face early in a person's career.

When Older Queen Alicent scolds her son, you could see the lunacy running through that kids eyes the entire time.

100%. Those kids ain't right.

This may be why the dragons bind to them as they do. That chaos inside of those nutjobs matches the pure insanity of those dragons. Think about it if you were a dragon in that world, you'd look at one of those blonde haired psychopaths and think "Wow, we got so much in common. Let's play some Wordle together"

LOL ... are those dragons insane? They're magical creatures and apex predators without much in the way of human morality, but I don't know that they're nutjobs so much as raptors on steroids.

These are crazy people, but they are in positions of power. And if they weren't, they are good looking. It's unreal how much good looks operates as currency in all societies across human history.

So much yes.

Something I've learned as I've gotten older - As mentioned before, if you are hot as hell, you can get away with all kinds of crazy for a while. Like Amber Heard. Or if you are funny and interesting, you can also get away with some crazy. What people won't tolerate is ugly and crazy or boring and crazy. Or poor and crazy.

On the nose.

 

[Scrappy776]

Andor feels like The Mandalorian without Mando, Grogu...or any action whatsoever. In other words super boring with no one interesting to root for or against.

For the first time in my life I paused a live-action SW story (halfway through the second episode) and simply quit watching due to lack of interest.

The days of SW being a must see event have apparently finally come to an end for me. I'll probably binge the rest after the season ends...or not, lol.

In other news I can't wait for HOD tonight, lol.

I had the exact opposite experience. Andor really interests me while HOD played like a soap opera. A total bore fest! I could barely keep my eyes open.

 

[jye4ever]

There is a huge difference between the Targaryeans being MAD PEOPLE due to incest and being STUPID PEOPLE due to lazy writing!

Sorry not buying it lol

 

[Wor-Gar]

I did not like the time jump. I found it odd that all the female roles were recast, but the male actors remained the same.

And do they have to keep appropriating names from GoT for new characters? Varys, Joffrey... it is not that hard to make up new names for new people.

 

[Neal136]

I'm pretty sure they recast Laenor Velaryon (Rhaenyra's husband), so it wasn't just the women.
This story is based on Martin's work, so the names are taken directly from that (for the most part). It seems like these noble houses reuse names all of the time, so it makes sense.

 

[ZE_501]

There is a huge difference between the Targaryeans being MAD PEOPLE due to incest and being STUPID PEOPLE due to lazy writing!

Sorry not buying it lol

Little of column A, little of column B.

 

[davejames]

Personally I thought the new actresses were great and I had no problem buying them as older (and far more bitter) versions of the characters. Although it did bug me just how MUCH of a snarky, unlikable b-tch Alicent had become by this time. As even though it's somewhat understandable given all the lies she had been fed over the years about the threat posed to her children, it was still pretty jarring and hard to watch. And it'll be a shame if they turn her into just another power hungry Cersei type.

 

[ZE_501]

Personally I thought the new actresses were great and I had no problem buying them as older (and far more bitter) versions of the characters.

It was jarring for me; I'll see if I get used to them.

 

[ArtDamage]

Man with the time jump this show kinda **** the bed for me honestly.

New actresses are okay but don't feel like the same characters, got little finger Jr as a string puller now I guess, bunch of random kids inserted in the show now. Ugh.

It was a bit too hard of a reset. That and I feel Daemon and the king (who is probably not long for this world) are being heavily sidelined.

 

[jye4ever]

Man with the time jump this show kinda **** the bed for me honestly.

New actresses are okay but don't feel like the same characters, got little finger Jr as a string puller now I guess, bunch of random kids inserted in the show now. Ugh.

It was a bit too hard of a reset. That and I feel Daemon and the king (who is probably not long for this world) are being heavily sidelined.

/\THIS/\

I also can’t believe that the BIG catalyst driving the entire plot is the MYSTERY if WHITE KIDS came from a BLACK FATHER!!



So the Targaryeans are both mad crazy AND stupid!

 

[davejames]

Lol I don't think that's really meant to be a mystery. It's just a matter of all the drama and conflict that will arise because of it, and how it will jeopardize Rhaeneyra's claim to the throne.