House of the Dragon - Surprisingly watchable

[Joelist]

I'll be the first to admit I had little hope held out for House of the Dragon after the train wreck of Game of Thrones Season 8. And yet....

This is actually not bad!

It has a story that both moves at a good clip AND is explained, it knows both how to mix show and tell effectively and the dialogue is pretty well written. The highlight so far has to be Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen who is both evil and courageous (he is no coward to put it lightly). Paddy Considine also chews the scenery very well as King Viserys and also fun to watch has been Steve Touissant as Corlys Valeryan.

It's not perfect in that it is bloodier than it needs to be and probably would be helped with fewer characters but it definitely watchable as is.

 

[Joelist]

And this continues to be watchable.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

I am enjoying this show too. Every episode that Matt Smith's character survives feels like a victory somehow.

 

[Joelist]

After the train wreck of GoT Season 8 I had no hopes, but this has been a pleasant surprise.

 

[Shadow Mann]

I like this show too. It was a surprise that it was so good!

 

[Lord Ba'al]

Is this a Game of Thrones spin-off?

 

[YJ02]

Is this a Game of Thrones spin-off?

prequel

the one that lived that is. i have more interest in the Jon Snow sequel that is in production

 

[YJ02]

 

[Joelist]

The one who has been stealing the show is Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen.

 

[Shadow Mann]

I like this show. In contrast to the awful (IMO) Rings of Power, this show is actually very good. Much better than the also awful S7 and S8 of Game of Thrones which destroyed so much. This show is well balanced, well paced and the character development is excellent.

 

[YJ02]

I like this show. In contrast to the awful (IMO) Rings of Power, this show is actually very good. Much better than the also awful S7 and S8 of Game of Thrones which destroyed so much. This show is well balanced, well paced and the character development is excellent.

you do not even know enough about Tolkien's works to either know or not know what belongs, what has been ad libbed or what has been meshed half way with source materials!

I say with high confidence there are not many people who have read ALL the works of Middle Earth-- its narratives, stories, background, creation of characters and plots. If you had then you would see that while there are a couple of items that do not fit, most of what has been shown so far could very easily fit into Tolkien's Second Age

so when you have read the nearly 20 books, let me know

 

[YJ02]

I like this show. In contrast to the awful (IMO) Rings of Power, this show is actually very good. Much better than the also awful S7 and S8 of Game of Thrones which destroyed so much. This show is well balanced, well paced and the character development is excellent.

there is nothing anywhere near as WTF as this guy in this pic with the blonde dreds in Rings of Power.. so is this Cultural Appropriation Cross back? nordic stealing from african stealing from nordic?

ASKING as I do not claim to know-- what is this character in the source material?

 

[Joelist]

His parentage is half Velaryon (the white hair is a dominant genetic marker of Velaryons and Targaryens) and someone from Mereen (?) I think. It works in the story AND the character is well written and acted. He is one of the three performances I singled out (Paddy Considine, Matt Smith and Steve Touissant) as really being compelling. Lots of people also name the two young princesses and yes they have been pretty watchable but to me not as standout.

If I had to name the difference between this and the disaster of GoT Season 8 it is probably back to the show runner who also has a big hand in directing (Ryan Condal). He originally was going to be the show runner of a Conan the Barbarian series at Amazon but was cut loose when Amazon dropped the Conan series, and brought many of his ideas to this show. It's better written and the actors much better directed than GoT Season 8 was.

 

[Joelist]

Well they are definitely setting the stage for the apocalyptic Dance of the Dragons which put House Targaryen on the Iron Throne, all but annihilated the Dragons and also all but annihilated several Houses especially House Velaryon. So far the acting is up to snuff, pacing is good and writing seems okay. There have been a couple of cinematography lapses (like amputated digits reappearing then disappearing and several scenes with just too little light) but overall this is by far the most watchable fantasy on the air right now.