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Spoilers House of the Dragon (HBO)

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GRRM sets up the backstory for the prequel House of the Dragon premiering August 21st.

I hope the show runners maintain respect for GRRM's storyline and characters. I'm long overdue for a show that captures my attention as much as GOT did. Especially as a book reader of the series.

 
JBGoode

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I wish GRRM would just write the books. I cringe every time I see him doing interviews and talking about everything but and saddened knowing they will never be finished.

I'm looking forward to this although I really wanted to see what they originally had planned for a series and was disappointed that it never made it past the pilot. I think the story of the first Long Night would have been epic. I think it was the lack of dragons in the story made them switch directions.

HBO: "This was really good but when do the dragons show up?'
Writer: "Dragons? There are no dragons in Westeros during this time period"
HBO: "Can you just put dragons in it?"
Writer: "No sir, we can't change Mr. Martin's history"
HBO: "We need dragons. People want dragons."
Writer: "But we just spent $30 million on this and are ready to move forward"
HBO: "Dragons"
 
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gigatoaster

gigatoaster

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I just watched it. It’s hard to have an opinion already, I think I need more episodes. There are all the ingredients of GOT but in a tiny dose. Oh and they already have dragons, though!

It feels that there are more green effects than real landscape, which is a shame. CGI are better on The Mandalorian.

Story seems classic, so far.

What did you think about it, guys?
 
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Huntn

Huntn

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172 years (if I got the number right) before the Mad King’s death. Season 1:Episode 1, so far so good. The rise of King Viseries Targaryen, the bad brother, a daughter who kind of wishes she was a son, some brutal Knightly arena combat, the expected debauchery and nudity, a shocking, but common event, and new possibilities open up for Rhaenyra Targaryen.

So far so good! :D
 
Huntn

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SPOILER



R!TTER said:
Loved it, almost had a feeling Viserys would choose his wife over an heir but then he did what most kings with a "good heart" would do!
Click to expand...
Well, they were at an impasse and I think the situation was that there was no way to save the mother, so a calculation was made.
 
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Huntn

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JBGoode said:
I wish GRRM would just write the books. I cringe every time I see him doing interviews and talking about everything but and saddened knowing they will never be finished.

I'm looking forward to this although I really wanted to see what they originally had planned for a series and was disappointed that it never made it past the pilot. I think the story of the first Long Night would have been epic. I think it was the lack of dragons in the story made them switch directions.

HBO: "This was really good but when do the dragons show up?'
Writer: "Dragons? There are no dragons in Westeros during this time period"
HBO: "Can you just put dragons in it?"
Writer: "No sir, we can't change Mr. Martin's history"
HBO: "We need dragons. People want dragons."
Writer: "But we just spent $30 million on this and are ready to move forward"
HBO: "Dragons"
Click to expand...
This story is almost 2 centuries before the events in GoT. I’m ignorant about the history of Westeros. When did the Targaryens, or whoever, first tame dragons? That might have been an interesting story, but in GoT, the development of dragons took multiple seasons. Here you have a show called House of Dragons, and I suspect the calculation was made that the audience would not want to spend so much time watching dragons grow up again.

So I don’t get why they did not pick up the House of Dragons after they had dragons? Or was too much valuable story telling lore lost regarding House Targaryen if they did that? Or spend a couple of episodes showing how dragons were captured, I’ll assume as eggs, and then tamed, then jump forward to when House Targaryen was a dragon powerhouse.

Anyway, since these books will probably never get written, how much does it matter? The show got a good start, Westeros is once again alive. I’ll hope that the HBO writers have create a compelling narrative. 🤔
 
JBGoode

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Huntn said:
This story is almost 2 centuries before the events in GoT. I’m ignorant about the history of Westeros. When did the Targaryens, or whoever, first tame dragons? That might have been an interesting story, but in GoT, the development of dragons took multiple seasons. Here you have a show called House of Dragons, and I suspect the calculation was made that the audience would not want to spend so much time watching dragons grow up again.

So I don’t get why they did not pick up the House of Dragons after they had dragons? Or was too much valuable story telling lore lost regarding House Targaryen if they did that? Or spend a couple of episodes showing how dragons were captured, I’ll assume as eggs, and then tamed, then jump forward to when House Targaryen was a dragon powerhouse.

Anyway, since these books will probably never get written, how much does it matter? The show got a good start, Westeros is once again alive. I’ll hope that the HBO writers have create a compelling narrative. 🤔
Click to expand...

I'm no scholar on Westeros history either but I believe the Targaryens came from a different continent (Valyria?) and conquered Westeros because of course they had dragons - I'm not sure how they came to have them but I think they were probably quite common where they came from. I'm not sure if George ever wrote about it and I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong - I can't be bothered to look it up :)

I got through the first half of this episode before the HBO Max stream started going wonky. It was off to a good start - hopefully I can finish it today. It seems that this season will have a time jump - I see that the 2 lead actresses who's names I forget have adult versions cast. Or did that happen last night? Guess I'll find out....

Edit: So I ended up watching from the beginning today and thought it was a fantastic first episode. I'd like to see this show go on for years go through the Targaryen dynasty and end with the Mad King/Robert's Rebellion. The source material is only two books so I wonder what the plan is.....
 
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shadow puppet

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Really enjoyed it and looking forward to episode 2. You just have to get past the bad wigs, lol.

I am bummed that young Rhaenyra gets re-cast with an older actress as I very much like the current actress. Not a fan of all the gore but I never have been.

Really missed seeing an über cool opening credits title scene intro. GOT's was always something I looked forward to each week. Apparently the co-creators wanted to save it for episode 2 so it's coming:

That said, the series will have its own opening moving forward -- but fans will have to wait to see what exactly that will be, and if there will be any similarities to the one that earned creative director Angus Wall, art director Robert Feng, animator Kirk Shintani and designer Hameed Shaukat a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design.

I did like hearing notes of the original GOT theme music throughout.

The birth scene was incredibly intense. Especially intercut with the gore of the jousting tournament. The worst part was when Aemma realized what was going to happen but I don't think she would have survived the birth regardless.

Pilot episodes set the stage and this one hit the ground running. Was it perfect? No, but for me, episode one is already intriguing enough to keep me watching. This is my favorite genre and I have greatly missed it so hoping it continues to capture my interest and attention.
 
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rpmurray

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Huntn said:
172 years (if I got the number right) before the Mad King’s death. Season 1:Episode 1, so far so good. The rise of King Viseries Targaryen, the bad brother, a daughter who kind of wishes she was a son, some brutal Knightly arena combat, the expected debauchery and nudity, a shocking, but common event, and new possibilities open up for Rhaenyra Targaryen.

So far so good! :D
Click to expand...
you had me at "debauchery and nudity".
 
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Slartibart

Slartibart

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JBGoode said:
As a side note, I hear a GoT sequel is possibly in the works with Kit Harrington reprising the Jon Snow role, tentatively titled “Snow”. That would be cool.
Click to expand...
well, with great powder comes great responsibility.
 
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Apple fanboy

Apple fanboy

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Enjoyed the first episode. But as someone else said too early to decide how it compares.
Matt Smith makes a good villain but those wigs. Reminds me of the elves in LotR!
Some tasty dragon battles could be cool. Or a cgi mess up. Time will tell. Mondays at least have something to look forward to!
 
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