House of the Dragon - Game of Thrones prequel

[Girth Certificate]

I still can’t believe that Paddy Considene’s character in Game of Thrones is less terrifying than when he played the bass player from new order 

[footle]

On 05/10/2022 at 21:45, footle said:

 

That's a particularly bright part of that specific scene.

Later bits have people dressed in black, running over dark bits of earth, in the dark, with no ambient light.

At least that's what I think was happening.

 

(It's noticeably a little clearer in HD, rather than UHD/HDR, and I imagine it's clearer on something that isn't an OLED, which has raised blacks).

 

Photos aren't representative because phones are really good at pulling out and accentuating light. Though the fact my iPhone keeps going into night mode to take a photo of it does tell you something.)

 

 

[memories]

Fantastic episode, real calm before the storm vibe going on.

 

Can't wait for the rest now.

[FalconGR]

Anyone else get a From Software (Ludwig?) vibe from the costuming in this episode - absolutely fantastic imagery. 

[Waggo]

That was a cracking episode.  
 

Genuinely looking forward to where they take it from here.

[Davros sock drawer]

I’ve really not been enjoying this show at all. I’ve found it boring, with unengaging, similar looking characters, and too much of a narrow focus on the house in which I was least interested in GoT. I almost gave up watching, and struggled to get through some of the episodes.

 

Until episode 8, which was utterly fantastic. 
 

With the exception of Paddy Considine (who has been great throughout but outstanding in episode 8), and Matt Smith, who also arrived fully formed, I feel like the current cast have taken their time but have finally arrived, via earlier less successful prototypes, in forms which I find engaging. The dinner scene was tense in a really fun way.

 

[Wallpaper]

Proper Elden Ring vibes from king Paddy this episode.

[footle]

1 minute ago, Davros sock drawer said:

I’ve really not been enjoying this show at all. I’ve found it boring, with unengaging, similar looking characters, and too much of a narrow focus on the house in which I was least interested in GoT. I almost gave up watching, and struggled to get through some of the episodes.

 

Until episode 8, which was utterly fantastic. 
 

With the exception of Paddy Considine (who has been great throughout but outstanding in episode 8), and Matt Smith, who also arrived fully formed, I feel like the current cast have taken their time but have finally arrived, via earlier less successful prototypes, in forms which I find engaging. The dinner scene was tense in a really fun way.

 

paddy and Matt have been out acting everyone. The chop in this episode was great.

[Girth Certificate]

13 hours ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Proper Elden Ring vibes from king Paddy this episode.

 

BEAR WITNESS

 

edit: actually I’d forgot GRRM was involved with Elden Ring. But a lot of the themes relating to the various crazy offspring are along similar lines.

 

I was actually quite moved by Rhynaera’s toast. After the wedding and funeral this felt like Xmas dinner. 
 

The new one-eyed Targ is wonderfully cast, could easily be this version of Matt Smith’s brother. I guess him and Daemon are going to fight it out at some point. I love the way Daemon just stepped in between him and the other boys with a smile like 'aye, mon then'

 

Ser Fuckboy didn’t get much time this week. 

 

[The Disco]

I'm confused now though...  Aemond has gotten older than his older brother somehow and has aged two or three times as much as his nephews.  Aemond also now has a face you reeeealy want to punch.

 

Also, is there now about three current characters called Aegon?

 

Spoiler

And I assume, after King Viserys' incoherant ramblings, Alicent has taken it to be that her son Aegon is the prince that was promised?  And I guess that means she will fuck things up royally next episode?

 

[Popo]

Yea, that was the most gripping episode of the season by a wide margin. If you thought King Paddy looked unwell in the last episode you haven’t seen anything yet. 
 

Spoiler

Liked the scene with the maid who was raped by Aegon. I thought right up to the last moment that she’d end up with 6 inches of Valerian steel in her back… but then Alicent feel genuine sadness for her, and pays her off. Taken alongside her disgusted refusal to go along with Larys’ offer to pop some eyes in last week’s episode, it neatly foreshadowed her otherwise abrupt warming of relations with Rhaenera. 

 

English is my husband’s second language so we always watch with the subtitles on, and the very last subtitle I think confirmed my suspicions; it said…

Spoiler

Breathing stops

 

So I guess King Paddy is now dead. 

 

[SpagMasterSwift]

I’ve realised that I have no idea what is going on now, who is in line for the throne and who should be, what the dream is about. Hopefully they’ll spell it out soon (not literally of course)…

[Popo]

3 minutes ago, The Disco said:

I'm confused now though...  Eamon has gotten older than his older brother somehow and has aged two or three times as much as his nephews.  Eamon also now has a face you reeeealy want to punch.

 

Also, is there now about three current characters called Eagon?

 

  Hide contents

And I assume, after King Viserys' incoherant ramblings, Alicent has taken it to be that her son Aegon is the prince that was promised?  And I guess that means she will fuck things up royally next episode?

 

Ahhh yes, I think you are right. I couldn’t work out how she had interpreted what was said. 

[Popo]

2 minutes ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

I’ve realised that I have no idea what is going on now, who is in line for the throne and who should be, what the dream is about. Hopefully they’ll spell it out soon (not literally of course)…

Here’s the mega-comprehensive explainer for last week’s episode, if it would help:

 

 

[Girth Certificate]

Yeah she’s going to turn heel again off a simple misunderstanding

[cassidy]

Paddy C and Matt Smith fucking smashing it.  

 

I knew Paddy had it in the bag cos it's paddy. 

 

Matt was the bigger surprise. He totally envelopes that character. And that's not easy to do when you've been the Dr. 

[Waggo]

Spoiler

He can keep his tongue.

Right up there in the list of classic GOT scenes.

[BitterToad]

Matt Smith laughing his arse off and rolling his eyes at religion will never not be funny. 
 

Cracking episode, cracking season. They’ve managed to solve my issue with Game of Thrones and keep it that it feels like things can build and evolve. Still have it take years to get anywhere but just do that shit off screen between episodes! 

[Number 28]

Did they

Spoiler

poison that poor chambermaid with what they told her was moon tea? I suspected that was what was going on, then there was a line which was like, "I don't know where she's got to?" Alicent is really getting nasty.

 

Aemond has evolved into a Final Fantasy villain. It's like he's sat there envisioning roasting absolutely everybody with Vhagar. I've got a feeling he's going to make Daemon look like a pussy cat.

 

[Alan Stock]

Good episode this week, great character moments and nice to see a bit of love for once in what's been a very grim series. It's getting distractingly hard to keep track of all the family members though especially as they keep changing actors. They all have similar names too, and its so hard to remember who is whose relations and their lineage. Its a big problem for a show that's about exactly those things!

 

Aside from those issues though it was a cracking romp with some great acting and lots to enjoy.

 

Spoiler

I like the new actors for the Queen's and Rhaneras' kids, new eyepatch Aegon is like a little Damon and the bastard sons did a good job. Some touching moments with daddy king, and amazingly the queen and Rhenera (I can't attempt to spell it). What a shame Allicent has taken the kings last words (or possibly last words, this man just won't die) wrongly. Presumably he was seeing Aegon of old and the fire legend rather than thinking of her son.

 

A bit weird to not see anything of the OldTown crew this episode. You'd have thought after 6 years or whatever we should have some idea of what they're up to. I guess they wanted to keep it contained to the family this week. 

 

That bit where the king shows up in the hall was great.

 

[makkuwata]

15 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

  Hide contents

Presumably he was seeing Aegon of old and the fire legend rather than thinking of her son.

It’s a moot point but

 

Spoiler

He could be referring to Jon Snow. The Prince Who Was Promised with the true name Aegon. Might have had another Targaryen vision dream.

 

[Davros sock drawer]

1 hour ago, Popo said:

Yea, that was the most gripping episode of the season by a wide margin. If you thought King Paddy looked unwell in the last episode you haven’t seen anything yet. 
 

  Hide contents

Liked the scene with the maid who was raped by Aegon. I thought right up to the last moment that she’d end up with 6 inches of Valerian steel in her back… but then Alicent feel genuine sadness for her, and pays her off. Taken alongside her disgusted refusal to go along with Larys’ offer to pop some eyes in last week’s episode, it neatly foreshadowed her otherwise abrupt warming of relations with Rhaenera. 

 

English is my husband’s second language so we always watch with the subtitles on, and the very last subtitle I think confirmed my suspicions; it said…

  Hide contents

Breathing stops

 

So I guess King Paddy is now dead. 

 

Yeah, I don’t think what happened to that maid is what you think happened…

[Popo]

6 hours ago, Davros sock drawer said:

Yeah, I don’t think what happened to that maid is what you think happened…

 

Spoiler

You don’t think she was poisoned do you? I thought it was abortion tea. 

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

7 minutes ago, Popo said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

You don’t think she was poisoned do you? I thought it was abortion tea. 

 

It definitely was 

Spoiler

abortion tea

as clearly introduced and focused on in previous episodes. That's what I like about this series so far, it doesn't assume that the audience are morons who need everything literally spelled out on-screen like the LotR Amazon show. That show looks amazing but all the characters have the depth of a puddle and the story is told in the most simplistic way possible. HotD is almost thr opposite, mostly indoor shots with the FX not stacking up to LotR, but the writing and acting is leagues ahead.

[Gommy]

11 minutes ago, Popo said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

You don’t think she was poisoned do you? I thought it was abortion tea. 

 

 

Spoiler

It was left ambiguous but the fact it was used earlier in the season would make sense for it to be that again.

 

Her being missing doesn't mean much, by all accounts it is a poison of sorts that makes you pretty ill.

 

Seems weird that Aegon got married to his sister, the incest thing back when Daemon wanted to marry his niece was still viewed by Viserys as pretty much an out of date practice.

Otherwise why not just marry Rhanerys to her new half brother which would be an obvious fix to most of the squabbles.

 

The names can be confusing in this, the dinner party,  they seemed to mention 3 of her kids, which I guess is because they are the 3 Strong offspring, but only 2 of them were there, but keeping track of them especially when they are not onscreen is a lot.

 

Not sure I like the deathbed misunderstanding.  It seems that all of what is to come could happen without it, sticking in a tropey deathbed last words confusion, doesn't feel necessary.

 

Very enjoyable episode, despite the narrow focus to GOT it has made it work.

 

[NexivRed]

I found that really fucking moving. I’m going to miss Paddy when he finally goes. They’ve done such an incredible job of showing how one king would hold a realm together. I think the story has been excellent. 
 

Really fucks me off that the casting for aged up, one-eye targ boy seems to have put him older than his older, window wanking targ boy. And he looks way more like the past older brother actor anyway. Really distracting. 

[Davros sock drawer]

2 hours ago, Popo said:

 

  Hide contents

You don’t think she was poisoned do you? I thought it was abortion tea. 

 

I do.

 

Spoiler

I think both the maid and (initially) the viewer are meant to think it’s abortion tea, but it’s actually go bye-bye forever tea.

 

Reasons? The maid is “missing” thereafter (Alicent could easily have simply told the other maid that Dyana was in bed sick, where she probably would have been, were it “merely” abortion tea), Alicent is clearly upset about doing it, which I don’t think she would be, were it abortion tea, and she is furious at her son, which again, doesn’t really track for an abortion.

 

Also she very carefully explains to the maid that she has already blabbed to three people. Having an abortion wouldn’t necessarily stop her telling more people about being raped, it’d just stop her proving it. Only her death could prevent further rumours. 
 

Finally, why have the entire episode at all if it’s “just” an abortion? I think it’s designed to show that Alicent will do anything (even if she’s a bit sad about it) for her family. The whole point is to show her ruthlessness.

 

Unless I’m wrong, in which case I’ve inadvertently revealed my own ruthlessness…

[Alan Stock]

I don't think she's

Spoiler

killed the maid. The whole episode was redemptive for Allicent. And the point of the scene is to show that fact, to show her son is a nasty shit, and remember the girl who reports to Damon's ex fling at the end is also feeding insider info such as this. Unless I'm wrong, in which case I've inadvertently revealed my own naivety...

 

Question, who is the white haired girl who was next to the rapist son at the dinner? I have totally lost track of the kids. Whoever she is I assume she's now married or at least betrothed to him?

 

[Davros sock drawer]

23 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

I don't think she's

  Hide contents

killed the maid. The whole episode was redemptive for Allicent. And the point of the scene is to show that fact, to show her son is a nasty shit, and remember the girl who reports to Damon's ex fling at the end is also feeding insider info such as this. Unless I'm wrong, in which case I've inadvertently revealed my own naivety...

 

Question, who is the white haired girl who was next to the rapist son at the dinner? I have totally lost track of the kids. Whoever she is I assume she's now married or at least betrothed to him?

 

Spoiler

Where's she gone then?

 

I think the "mercy" she showed was that she misled the maid into thinking it was an abortion tea but the phrase she used "We have to be sure" or whatever it was, had a double meaning. One for the maid ("We have to be sure you don't get pregnant") and one for herself/the viewer ("We have to be sure you don't spread this"). 

 

She's dead. 

 

[schmojo]

1 hour ago, Alan Stock said:

I don't think she's

  Hide contents

killed the maid. The whole episode was redemptive for Allicent. And the point of the scene is to show that fact, to show her son is a nasty shit, and remember the girl who reports to Damon's ex fling at the end is also feeding insider info such as this. Unless I'm wrong, in which case I've inadvertently revealed my own naivety...

 

Question, who is the white haired girl who was next to the rapist son at the dinner? I have totally lost track of the kids. Whoever she is I assume she's now married or at least betrothed to him?

 

 

Seems like she's

Spoiler

Aegon's wife and also his sister. Maximum Targaryen.