All Series Must Die (Which Is Why There Are New Ones) -- The Game of Thrones Series Spinoffs

i kind of like that the song and titles are basically the same, that allows me to just think of this as another season of the same show.

Seems more like incidental music than a theme

I'm certain the opening credits to ep 1 played a different song, that only had references back to the GoT theme, but then ep 2, it was jus tthe old theme?

there wasn’t a credits sequence in episode one, i don’t think

True but it did have an opening sequence with a thematic tune that wasnt the same. I assumed that would be the theme and as it turns out, no.

how it's going:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/house-of-the-dragon-miguel-sapochnik-leaving-1235208276

u guys are crazy the actor playing Daemon is by far the best thing in this show so far. stony and surprisingly complex (the portrayal, not the role)

yes Matt Smith is good. dunno why anyone is complaining about him.

I didn't quite get why he freaked the fuck out at that letter and the messenger; did he not want help?

All the endless pouting from both king and princess in ep3 was a bit of a drag. This show badly needs some additional plots to follow.

xp

This campaign was meant to show that Daemon was stronger than the king and could lead his own war effort. The king stepping in to save him means he's failed.

He wasn't going to let the king claim this victory after doing jack shit for months

Im not getting a sparky feel from any character so far. If anything the only person I was *intrigued* by at least was the crab King and well, he's in 2 pieces now so whatever .

I will say that last act was quite engaging - loved the scoring, and the lack of dialogue/suspense.

But wheres the sassy heroes and villains? Wheres a littlefingr or tyrion?

Some time in the middle of the episode I got a fit of the giggles because it was so dull, and so many similar-sounding names were coming out of people's mouths, it was like a parody of a terrible fantasy. And for some reason everything is just dirt coloured. The episode definitely picked up towards the end, but I think I don't care enough to keep watching it.

At least from the first couple episodes, just like with the last couple seasons after the main plot got outside the books, you can tell they don't have the depth of material. I'd figure keeping the cast down might be a cost control thing too.

This so far looks like if you just made Game of Thrones about the goofs hanging around the main castle.

This show is dumb as hell. Richly appointed (though some of the cgi is terribly uncanny valley), generally well presented (though the whole Matt Smith fight sequence was nearly incoherent), ably-acted (though everyone seem utterly trapped in character rather than performing), poorly written (if i hear "mine daughter" one more time) and basically dumb as hell. My guess is that after ten hours and hundreds of millions of dollars, they'll likely start making something interesting next year. I expect it will be the Final Fantasy of prestige TV and get interesting after the fifteenth hour. Even then, I'll never be able to unsee Princess John Mulaney.

"mine X" sets my teeth on edge for reasons I'm sure I needn't relitigate around these parts.

Whoops

Not the green screen glove on Viserys’s missing fingers 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️#hotd pic.twitter.com/4CLUw5tDhI

— Sarah Capps (@SarahBKnowsBest) September 5, 2022

as i suspected the compressed timeline is messing with the drama. i did enjoy daemon's bemused, then furious reaction to the king's letter tho

oh i also thought it was funny that the guy who played the lannisters did his own version of dinklage's terrible accent

I'm saving this show up for a binge, but I have to say I'm quite amused by complaints on the socials that having black people and pugs is not "realistic."

So far I’ve read 1,000 hot takes about the people complaining about black people in this show and zero actual people complaining about it.

was one of the Lannister bros in EP 3 *not* ser hugh of the vale who was killed by the splintered Lance to the neck whilst jousting in season 1 of got?

no they were both played by the same actor, who also played ser hugh briefly in season 1

Is this going to end up being like Law and Order where they just recycle the same actors thru various minor roles over the years.

GoT did a lot of that, the actor playing one of the Lannister lads who Lord Karstark slew for revenge came back to play Tommen Baratheon a season or two later

there are only so many beardos in the acting world

i definitely didn't realize that he was in the original series, it's been a long ass time since i've sat down to watch season 1

finally, the extended john mulaney armor fetish softcore we've all been hoping for

Didn’t try to verify it yet but (we just got a ridiculous large new hd tv) and I swear I saw a visible zipper on that grubby striped pillow Daemon was lounging on. Oops?

damn, that last episode was great. this is turning into a good show, reminds me of what i liked about the first couple seasons of game of thrones

did not expect episode to end on a day after pill cliffhanger

i watched the first episode of rings of power last night -- to me, at least, the difference between the shows (that one and this) was noticeable. as in, rings of power was noticeably worse, more cheesy, worse dialogue, worse acting, lots of cgi, etc. there is a lot of complicated shit going on in hotd right now, i'm enjoying it

full agreement. the dialogue in Rings is fucking terrible and cringeworthy. Still watching it but jesus christ.

Meanwhile this had a full on incest sex orgy and an abortion. I know which show I'm looking forward to each week!

Also I really like Alicent, I'm be sad when they move forward in a few episodes and recast her with an older actress.

Man, I was really not into this week House of the Dragon. There is just no real reason imo for the sex scenes to take so much damn screentime. not a prude just easily bored. Thought Daemon's entry with his dumb fucking crown was pretty cringe. Hated the street carnival puppets and plays stuff. The ep ended strong, w/ the bit were Viserys put Hightower in his place, Alicent being cool, and abortion also fine.

nothing more coherent rn. better than Rings Of Power this week which was also pretty rough going.

you guys are not making me wanna watch lord of the dragons

The ending… it took me a second to realize!
I am definitely enjoying the more political aspect of HotD - Hightower being a good example.

yeah. i am very into the court intrigue, which was also my favorite part of GoT. i didn't much like the actor who plays king viserys, at first, but i've grown to like him. he has a softness of heart to him that is very different than ned stark. and clearly viserys is doomed. you have to love that.

Those Hightowers piss me off, trying to cancel the Targaryen's fiery alt sexuality.

The master of kink shaming

That"s Paddy Considine xps

He's been in lots of good things but especially excellent in Dead Man's Shoes

I have zero expectations for this and as a result quite like it? I started watching cos I love Paddy Considine but weirdly Daemon and Rhaenyra bring me back. I didn’t know about them casting black actors but it makes sense in this medium cos otherwise they’re pretty identical looking to the Targaryens and yeah, unrealistic is a joke as always. It’s nice to see something of House Hightower, who are this very grand house that you keep seeing getting mentioned in the books.

Also I like very much the whole “we used to be friends” vibe with Alicent and Rhaenyra. Obvs that’s canon but it’s good!

Also also - the sex scenes in episode 4 are so different from GoT. The characters are obviously different and Rhaenyra has a lot more power than most of the female characters ever did, but the focus on Alicent’s blank face as Viserys’s scabby old body is pumping her is contrasted so well to Rhaenyra and Cole and the playful way she starts taking off his armour. It never feels leering or gross the way GoT often did.

ok ep 5 is a banger, best one yet

Yeah pretty decent

gyac otm about seeing more of the Hightowers, they always seemed part of the lore in the books/previous series rather than active participants in the story

Ya. Fuck the haters, That episode was great!

I hope every episode has a wedding.

the rat creeping up to the blood at the end was 👌🏻

it isn't a westeros wedding without at least one gruesome death.

I also liked ep 4, and agree with gyac that the sex scenes felt different and less gross compared to GoT's. also sets up the events of ep 5 nicely - the pact between Rhaenyra and Laenor, Criston's jealousy and betrayal, Alicent's discontent, it all stems from that one night on the town

i think i've complained enough about this already but the long and the short of it is that it's missing the patience, the resolve, the nuance, the intelligence (brutal though it was) that GoT had and has replaced that with algorithm and pageantry. that stuff works to the degree that it makes this watchable but it's not something to get excited about.