House of the Dragon - Discussion

[Arkandel]

@Aria said in House of the Dragon - Discussion:

Meanwhile, Rings of Power is taking what was supposed to be the original foundational mythology of Middle Earth–what’s essentially the backdrop to the story in LotR and The Hobbit–and making it the central story. It’s much harder for them to spend time delving deep into a character’s emotional state, what motivates them, how they’re connected to other people in the story, etc. because they have to spend so much time explaining to us what the fuck is going on

As a caveat, I don’t want to sound negative about Rings of Power. I liked it, I think it was better than it could have been. It holds promise, and I’ll definitely watch season two when it’s out.

But frankly I think they tried to please both types of viewers and failed to do so. As a hardcore fan I didn’t really like the ‘fanfic’ aspects they introduced, and some of the major characters from the Second Age either came off a bit off or their roles were steamrolled over to make the plot’s ends meet. The immense respect someone like Elrond (he’s the freakin’ son of freakin’ Earendil) or Galadriel were owed didn’t come off well. The decline of the Elves was replaced by some weird mithril-curing ailment out of left field. Sauron’s manipulations came off… well we didn’t really see them happen; a lot of it (to me) seemed like massive coincidences rather than meticulously laid plans.

In comparison House of the Dragon invested big time in its characters’ arcs, and it paid off. Paddy Considine alone… damn, that guy turned a walk from one end of a room to the other into a chills-inducing scene. He was so good. The villains, from its merciless brutes to the increasingly paranoid mother trying to keep her kids alive during a succession set a hell of a stage for what’s obviously going to end in a whole lot of slaughter. In proud Westeros tradition there is at least one theoretically unredeemable dude - who literally murdered his wife on camera - turned into a fan favorite because of the performance.

And the most dubious aspect of the first season (again, for me), the introduction of time-shifts which required actors to be switched, some child actors to be used which is always risky, etc, worked to a good extent - and now it’s over. From this point I don’t believe there are more timeshifts planned before the Dance of Dragons officially begins.

Again, not to sound negative about RoP… I think it’s Amazon’s fault. They didn’t pick Tolkien because they cared for it, they picked the property as a big name that they needed to showcase Amazon Prime, poured money into the special effects and tried to make it a spectacle. And it is one. But it could have been so much better.

… At least it wasn’t an abomination like Wheel of Time.

[Smile]

Was WoT bad?

[dvoraen]

@Smile said in House of the Dragon - Discussion:

Was WoT bad?

It diverged so much from the source material that I was wondering what I was watching. Don’t get me wrong, they did some things well as far as adapting to a TV series was concerned (I rather liked the Aes Sedai costuming, in the end), but several things were… I’m going to say butchered for the sake of being dramatic. I can’t really give concrete examples without spoiling things, though.

[Third Eye]

The WoT finale was a mess, though I’m one of those people who thinks the finale for the book Eye of the World was also a mess, so I guess for me it was a wash. I’m curious where it goes in the second season with a more straightforward book to adapt plus in theory less COVID restrictions on shooting (and in theory no more recasts).

[Arkandel]

I’m trying to not talk about WoT too much because

1. I’ll get pissed off.
2. I don’t want to be the guy who tells people who liked it anyway that they are wrong to do so.

… But it was pretty bad.

[SpaceKhomeini]

@Third-Eye

No Bayle Domon though

what the fuck

Also, I’m sorry to say this, but this show really fucked up when it didn’t bring back Billy Zane.

DRAAAAAAAAAAGONNNNN!

[Tori]

I didn’t read the book(s?) about this history and omg the finale ending cut me hard. I should have expected it, given his writing, but didn’t.

[Arkandel]

@Tori Getting attached or having favorite characters in Martin’s stories rarely ends well.

I haven’t read Fire and Blood (and I’m trying not to, although there are so many spoilers and videos out there) just to keep the inevitable cries of anguish nice and raw when the inevitable happens.

[Coin]

@Arkandel said in House of the Dragon - Discussion:

@Tori Getting attached or having favorite characters in Martin’s stories rarely ends well.

I haven’t read Fire and Blood (and I’m trying not to, although there are so many spoilers and videos out there) just to keep the inevitable cries of anguish nice and raw when the inevitable happens.

I mean, Joffrey spoils the end of House of the Dragon in Game of Thrones. There’s a whole scene about it. XD

[Smile]

@Tori It actually had an element that surprised even book readers. It certainly took me aback. (In a good way).

The general gist was the same though.

Edit: Also yes Joffrey does spoil it. Thankfully most viewers won’t remember.

[crawfish]

@Smile there’s what history records and then there is the truth.

[Arkandel]

@Coin said in House of the Dragon - Discussion:

I mean, Joffrey spoils the end of House of the Dragon in Game of Thrones.

Will that fucker’s evil never end?