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 just don't know how people can say stuff like this and write it off so quickly, characters don't become complex within 2 episodes.

I kind of agree about paddy consadine but isn't he meant to be a bit insipid- when he was explaining to Otto about what that other guy said about marrying his daughter, he repeated what he had said almost word for word which I felt showed he has very few thoughts of his own and is very easily led.

I haven't written it off @bilky and will keep watching but don't think the casting is great. I'll be happily proved wrong on that.

I do disagree re characters becoming complex in 2 episodes - I think they absolutely can become complex characters within that space time, especially given the length of each episode. They should be fleshed out more by now.

Maybe you're right re Paddy, but to me he's just coming across as a bit shit, not insipid or anything character driven, but simply a bit of a crap actor who's wrong for the role! (I'm not a massive Paddy fan in the first instance, so that could be colouring my view).

Again, happy to be proved wrong as I love GOT & want this to be amazing! That could also be part of the problem, expectations are too high, so that will only lead to disappointment also!

Your characters hit the ground running in the pilot episode. So yes, any complexity and future drama already seeded in that ep. If they don't, audiences don't tend not to give the show a second chance. This is particularly the case now we have so much choice. If you really believe shows need more than two hours of screen time to bed in, I suggest you watch just one episode of pretty much any successful US sitcom: running time approx 22 minutes, usually three storylines with a beginning/middle/end. Different genre, yes, but there's an efficiency to screenwriting that even the casual observer is aware of (and notices when it is absent)

I think those of us who watched GoT may have higher expectations. DH has not watched it, so he quite liked this new offering. I was comparing and thus it fell short...

I enjoyed the second episode much more than the first. Not usually a Matt Smith fan but I am liking him in this a lot and he's the only one I can hear clearly without the subtitles on!!

I think for me, it's the single focus storyline that is making it feel flat. I just loved the depth and the myriad of storylines/locations/characters in every episode of GOT. Every episode had so much content, I hardly dared blink or even breathe for fear of missing something. Whilst I'm enjoying this, in the same way I enjoyed Wheel of Time or Witcher, it's no GOT (yet...).

I’m loving it! Saved the 2 episodes and watched them both tonight.

I was late to GoT. I watched the first 7 seasons in advance of the final season, so only 3.5 years ago. I remember finding the first 2 seasons tedious in places. The nudity and violence was OTT. But there was enough of a story developing to keep me interested. The great characters who gave an added layer (Bronn, Brienne, etc) developed as it went on.

So, I’m not expecting that level of attachment to humour, sarcasm, etc right from the outset here. Actually, I think I’d be pretty pissed off if they tried to replicate that from the start. I want to learn/understand who the characters are, what their backstory is and where they fit into the current dynamic. And then I want to witness their arc. I hated Jaimie in the beginning, but really appreciated how my feelings changed through various seasons.

I haven’t read any of the books, so am aiming to enjoy it as a stand-alone tv show. So am trying to skim over any posts that may give things away from those who have read them.

Over the past couple of months, I rewatched all of GoT in “preparation’ for this. Just to remind myself of various House names etc. I felt disappointed in Season 8 when it was released. Having watched it again, I’m actually now happy with how it progressed and ended. Maybe a couple of small points I’d nitpick on, but overall I enjoyed it.

I might pause again for a couple of weeks so that I can watch episodes back to back again.

Oh, am obviously loving seeing the dragons again 🐉. And love the fact that they’ve got proper tack for riding them! Must be more comfortable than riding bareback like in GoT!

Forgot to say - I watch most “dramas” nowadays with subtitles. It saves my neighbours being blasted out 🤣. Definitely helped a lot with rewatching GoT and also helped with the start of HoD as I know I’m not missing anything important.

Anyone tried to watch this morning in Now TV? It’s not working 😱

Phew… it’s working now!

No one else watched yet??

I’m saving it to decompress after the Conservative carnival.

Not long to wait now!

Won't be able to watch it till this evening work then waiting for my daughter to go to bed, seems ages!

I’m waiting until it goes dark. Just tried to watch it now but there was a glare on the TV.

Completed my rewatching of Lord of the Rings in preparation for The Rings of Power - and had to give up on the new thing half way through. It just wasn’t compelling enough.

I’m entirely invested in HOD - so I’m prepared to be patient. There’s still too much spoon feeding and signposting in Ep3 but they do feel like real people - and the writers seemed to recall a distant memory of the existence of a thing called humour this week, so …

Also Matt Smith.

Also. Matt. Smith just being.

I think Matt Smith has the insolent swagger I associate with Dameon, but his voice ruins it. Too high pitched and nasally.

I just finished this weeks.

As a welsh mner, I have found myself cheering for Ceraxes most of all

I've never fancied Matt Smith always found him weird looking but oh my god he plays Daemon Targaryen amazingly. I definitely would with him wearing that wig 🤣🤣

Ridiculously I found myself wondering how Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant would have been as Daemon Targaryen.

Or … Joe Gilgun, Paapa Essiedu, Cillian Murphy (in fact any Peaky male).

There’s no doubt - it’s Matt Smith’s role.

I agree. There’s something about that wig and armour that’s sexing him up ! 😮

Must be the wigs but Corlys as well. Although I also Really like the character and actor.

Well that's more like it!
Far better and punchier episode this week - improved as it went along though a wee bit long-winded in parts.

Worst episode so far for me. Quite unbelievable the Daemon scene.
We need some intrigue and dialogue...

I've always had a thing for Rhaegar😂😂. He got hardly any screen time. Shame Viserys was a cunt in GOT. I love the blonde wigs on the men and the armour 😂.

It is not just me then. You cannot see anything during daylight.

I could never watch GoT during the day either which was really hard as I wanted to watch it as soon as I got up in the morning. Sometimes I’d be thinking about it all day. 😂

I’ve just got round to watching this week’s episode. For me it was the best one yet. I thought it had a real GoT feel.