HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

[houseofthedragon]

Extended trainer here:

I am so excited for this!!! Anyone else???!!!

HOTD will be premiering on the 21st Aug (22nd Aug for U.K.)

I liked Episode 2 a lot better than 1. No pointless nudity and violence, just some plotting. I think the characters are being fleshed out and will develop now. Still don't care that much about any of them, but hopefully that will come.

Daemon's wife lives in Runestone, which is in the Vale. It is quite far from Dragonstone and King's Landing.

Thanks Rhaenys 😊

It definitely felt like a builder episode. I'm not sure about Matt Smith. Bit miscast maybe?

Just came on to say hearing the theme music gave me massive massive goose bumps!

Enjoyed this episode a lot, it’s all bubbling along nicely.

it’s weird not having the multiple storylines and settings and characters that we’re used to with GoT though. Maybe we’ll see The Wall and Winterfell etc at some point?

Matt Smith and Rhys Ifans are the characters I AM enjoying

For me, both actors are doing a lot with not a lot of script.

I absolutely hate that they have used known actors, it's really distracting me. I just see Matt Smith (or even worse, Prince Philip!) and Paddy Considine, rather than their characters. It's ruining it for me so far

I've just restarted the crown too, which makes it even harder to see Daemon!

I think Matt Smith is nailing it.
But now I know who Paddy is , all I can see is that guy from Hot Fuzz in a wig lol

Adore Matt Smith in anything. But it is impossible to believe anyone would have chosen Paddy Considine to wear a crown.

@BeyondPurpleTulips I couldn't cope with that

I thought episode 2 was a bit boring too to be honest. Agree we are missing some humour, I’ve just been watching some of the earlier GoT and I think Tyrion was so good at drawing everyone one and a bit of relief from the violence etc. I very much like Paddy Considine, I guess he’s meant to be a ‘weak’ king but I have to say I’m not keen on his stubble! Daemon seems vile, interesting that he’s meant to be the most charming Targ ever.. hmm. Not getting that from him at all. More Joffrey-like at the moment!

Hopefully it was a sort of build up episode as others have said.

Not so much charming as charismatic. Daemon is meant to be Prince Oberyn times 10. It is just that Pedro Pascal has so much more swagger and menace.

I am not enjoying Matt Smith much or Milly Alcock either. Neither of them have that twinkle in the eye that Jaime Lannister or Arya Stark had.

I’m liking Matt Smith but no one else is really doing it for me yet. Everything seems a bit understated. Rhaenys is no Queen of Thorns! Bit of a dull episode.

When the castings were first announced without them saying which characters they were going to play, I thought Rhys Ifans was going to be Viserys. Viserys is considered to be one of the most amiable Targaryen kings. I don’t think Paddy Considine is a terrible choice though.

I saw someone online describe Matt Smith as being handsome but also a bit inbred looking which makes him perfect for a Targaryen. I thought that was spot on. 😂

I’m inclined to think ‘slow’ rather than understated - as if we won’t understand anything unless the camera lingers on a scene for five solid minutes and characters explain everything Really Clearly In Words. Without wit. Whereas actually it needs to zip along leaving us breathless in its wake.

Also, I’m rewatching the Hobbit trilogy atm - and the similarities between that and this are all too apparent.

Handsome? Nah - he’ll always be an alien to me. Weird and beautiful and sad - but alien. Not to be contained within a human word like handsome.

(Perhaps I’m going to struggle with him as ‘the baddie’ when all I want is for his planet to be restored and River Song to turn up and coo “Hello Sweetie.” …)

I do wonder if due to the phenomenal success of GoT they’re trying to draw it out as long as possible.
I’ve read Fire & Blood (I won’t spoil it don’t worry) and I’m struggling to see how they can go on for more than 3 seasons with this particular era.

@Rhaenys They can easily do five seasons, but I can't say how without spoilers. Time jumps.

With time jumps yes but I thought they were just focusing on the Dance of the Dragons.

Matt Smith isn’t convincing me as Daemon. I think it’s his voice more than anything that doesn’t befit the character. But too squeaky and not very commanding.

I also think Paddy Considine does menacing far better than he does nice and weak so I’m not particularly enjoying him in the role either.

Watching The Sandman at the same time and it has occurred to me that Boyd Holbrook would be perfect as Daemon!

I'm coming at this purely from a TV perspective and as a GoT fan. I'm unfamiliar with the orginal source material but I feel disappointed in what I've seen so far. I cannot understand how such a big, spendy production can let such a lacklustre script through the net. It literally boggles my mind, it's the cheapest thing in production to get right! The characters lack sophistication, their dynamics feel predictable and flat and the biggest crime, for me, the lack of humour. It's so portentous, it's crushed under the weight of its own legacy. I hope, really hope it manages to find it's own pace and style but the writing doesn't come close to the quality we've come to associate with this world.

Someone earlier compared HOTD to Succession. If that's its ambition, I can see how that might be an interesting niche. But Succession (written by comedy writers) understands the importance of levity alongside, the high stakes drama. Its also a masterclass in how to showcase complex, conflicted relationships on screen without resorting to spoonfeeding your audience via clunky dialogue.

I don't know, I might keep watching to see if it finds its own way. But so far, it feels like a waste of both on and off screen talent.

Just watched episode 2 - I'm trying to love it but just not feeling it. Paddy Considine is not right in his role & Matt Smith's voice isn't commanding enough for his role.

I also agree that the humour is missing and the complexity of the characters just isn't there to make you love (or loathe!) them! No warmth at all.

Was grateful there was no crazy violence or sex scenes though, so that was positive!

The Dance of the Dragons is still 24 years in the future.