GAME OF THRONES: HOUSE OF THE DRAGON series (2022) 4 4

[Deathlok]

On 8/5/2024 at 8:22 AM, fantastic_four said:

Martin stretches everything.  Whether or not it's too long is debatable, but this series has definitely moved MUCH more rapidly than the first six season of Game of Thrones, and when the showrunners tried to speed up the pace in season 7 and 8 of that show fans revolted, so it seems to me most fans prefer the slow pace.

The biggest battles are yet to come.  As the video Bosco shared a few posts back had this season been 10 episodes we would have probably seen the biggest battle to date as the season finale, but the showrunners decided to save that for next season.  Next season in general should have a LOT more battles than this one did, and I think we saw a few scenes from those battles in Daemon's Ice and Fire vision.

I certainly don't mind the slower place, but from a fan persepctive, there should be OMG! moments in the show.  The first season seem to accelerate the story at a good pace, even jumping in time mid-season.  The 2nd season seem to drag for no reason.

don't they have like 3 generations to go before we hit GOT timeline?

[fantastic_four]

On 8/5/2024 at 11:33 AM, Deathlok said:

don't they have like 3 generations to go before we hit GOT timeline?

This series takes place around 170 years before the beginning of Game of Thrones, so it's more like 6 or 7.  Except that this series won't take us anywhere near the beginning of Game of Thrones; it just covers the "Dance of the Dragons," i.e. the last major war where dragons were involved.  I think the war lasted less than 5 years and maybe closer to 2-3 years, but at the end we'll be about the same distance away from Game of Thrones that we were when this series started.

They said in Game of Thrones that dragons had been extinct for well over a century, and maybe that number was actually 150 years, I forget exactly.  So I'm guessing at the end most of the dragons we see in the show now will be gone, or who knows, maybe some of them go away somewhere like Drogon did at the end of GoT.

Maybe they will do some massive skip forward in time in the last season or last episode, but the vast bulk of the show should still be entirely in the distant past relative to Game of Thrones.

[Deathlok]

On 7/17/2024 at 12:10 PM, drotto said:

5 seasons are planned.  The source material for this show is complete, and there is a definitive endpoint. 

4 Seasons

https://deadline.com/2024/08/house-of-the-dragons-ryan-condal-confirms-drama-ending-after-four-seasons-1236031608/

 

[awakeintheashes]

On 8/5/2024 at 12:26 AM, fantastic_four said:

I guess we're to assume Alicent told Aegon to leave King's Landing, so the war still rages on.

Larys Strong told him they had to leave. It was a pretty long scene where Larys was convincing Aegon they had to leave to ride out the war in a safe place and return as a uniter. Larys is playing the very long game. 

Edited August 5 by awakeintheashes

[Bosco685]

On 8/5/2024 at 4:37 PM, awakeintheashes said:

Larys Strong told him they had to leave. It was a pretty long scene where Larys was convincing Aegon they had to leave to ride out the war in a safe place and return as a uniter. Larys is playing the very long game. 

Exactly! It all took place while Alicent was making her trip.

[Pitboss]

Fantastic end to a great season! 

Spoiler

Daemon bent the knee  That's a BIG 'effin deal.

 

[Bosco685]

[Bosco685]

 

[fantastic_four]

On 8/5/2024 at 4:37 PM, awakeintheashes said:

On 8/5/2024 at 12:26 AM, fantastic_four said:

I guess we're to assume Alicent told Aegon to leave King's Landing, so the war still rages on.

Larys Strong told him they had to leave. It was a pretty long scene where Larys was convincing Aegon they had to leave to ride out the war in a safe place and return as a uniter. Larys is playing the very long game. 

What I remember from that scene was Aegon being dead set against leaving.  I must have missed Larys managing to convince him to go "mingle with the goat-f'ers" so I'll re-watch that one again.

[kimik]

On 8/6/2024 at 7:11 AM, fantastic_four said:

What I remember from that scene was Aegon being dead set against leaving.  I must have missed Larys managing to convince him to go "mingle with the goat-f'ers" so I'll re-watch that one again.

At the end of the scene Aegon was all for it as he would be viewed as a saviour when he came back.

[kimik]

The finale was . The season has been trending down in my eyes since Rhaenys was killed in battle. I understand they want to stretch things out to set up four seasons, but they would have been better off doing three seasons with faster pacing of Seasons 1 and 2. Even with the awesomeness of the dragons, I am finding it a step below GoT.

[kimik]

Here is a comparison of Season 1 and 2 viewership. I am surprised at the drop even with the dragons becoming more engaged. The Season 2 trend is promising, though.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-finale-ratings-1236096169/

“House of the Dragon” hit a Season 2 high in viewership with Sunday’s finale, which drew 8.9 million multiplatform viewers across HBO and Max, per Warner Bros. Discovery.

That’s up 14% from the Season 2 premiere night, which garnered 7.8 million viewers. However, it is down from the audience size for the first season finale of “House of the Dragon” in 2022. 

After premiering with 10 million viewers in June 2022, “House of the Dragon” Season 1 hit its peak with Episode 2, reaching 10.2 million. Exact data was not made available for Episodes 3-9, but Episode 10 closed the season with 9.3 million viewers.

Edited August 6 by kimik

[awakeintheashes]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:04 AM, kimik said:

At the end of the scene Aegon was all for it as he would be viewed as a saviour when he came back.

“The Realm’s Delight”

[fantastic_four]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:04 AM, kimik said:

On 8/6/2024 at 9:11 AM, fantastic_four said:

What I remember from that scene was Aegon being dead set against leaving.  I must have missed Larys managing to convince him to go "mingle with the goat-f'ers" so I'll re-watch that one again.

At the end of the scene Aegon was all for it as he would be viewed as a saviour when he came back.

Well that completely changes everything.  That means Alicent may have been trying to be 100% true to what she promised to Rhaenyra, but she didn't realize Aegon was leaving.  That also helps guess whether she's leaving at the end or not--she probably isn't.

I read somewhere else yesterday that something towards the end was implying Rhaenyra was not actually going to march her army on King's Landing in three days as Alicent suggested.  Anyone catch that?  I missed it, as did my significant other.

Edited August 6 by fantastic_four

[kimik]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:26 AM, fantastic_four said:

Well that completely changes everything.  That means Alicent may have been trying to be 100% true to what she promised to Rhaenyra, but she didn't realize Aegon was leaving.  That also helps guess whether she's leaving at the end or not--she probably isn't.

Do you want me to spoil that for you? 

[fantastic_four]

On 8/6/2024 at 12:27 PM, kimik said:

On 8/6/2024 at 12:26 PM, fantastic_four said:

Well that completely changes everything.  That means Alicent may have been trying to be 100% true to what she promised to Rhaenyra, but she didn't realize Aegon was leaving.  That also helps guess whether she's leaving at the end or not--she probably isn't.

Do you want me to spoil that for you? 

I already know what she did in the book if that's what you mean.  They're diverging from that at times in the show, so I'm not assuming they're the same.  Seemed at the end like they were trying to suggest she's not sure what she'll do since she was just standing there staring at the sunset contemplatively.

[kimik]

On 8/6/2024 at 10:28 AM, fantastic_four said:

I already know what she did in the book if that's what you mean.  They're diverging from that at times in the show, so I'm not assuming they're the same.  Seemed at the end like they were trying to suggest she's not sure what she'll do since she was just standing there staring at the sunset contemplatively.

Someone posted earlier in this discussion a comment from the showrunners/writers that they know the bigger events that happen and are having to fill in the gaps. So I assume this means that Alicent's fate will follow the books, but they are free to do whatever they want in between.

[kimik]

On 8/6/2024 at 8:42 AM, kimik said:

Here is a comparison of Season 1 and 2 viewership. I am surprised at the drop even with the dragons becoming more engaged. The Season 2 trend is promising, though.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-finale-ratings-1236096169/

“House of the Dragon” hit a Season 2 high in viewership with Sunday’s finale, which drew 8.9 million multiplatform viewers across HBO and Max, per Warner Bros. Discovery.

That’s up 14% from the Season 2 premiere night, which garnered 7.8 million viewers. However, it is down from the audience size for the first season finale of “House of the Dragon” in 2022. 

After premiering with 10 million viewers in June 2022, “House of the Dragon” Season 1 hit its peak with Episode 2, reaching 10.2 million. Exact data was not made available for Episodes 3-9, but Episode 10 closed the season with 9.3 million viewers.

To put the HotD viewership in perspective, here is what HBO reported for GoT on a season by season episode average (I am shocked that Euphoria's viewership was so high - is it that strong of a show?):

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/euphoria-season-2-finale-ratings-1235192015/

Per HBO, here’s each season’s average for “Game of Thrones” entire run: Season 1 – 9.3 million, Season 2 – 11.6 million, Season 3 – 14.4 million, Season 4 – 19.1 million, Season 5 – 20.2 million, Season 6 – 25.7 million, Season 7- 32.8 million, and Season 8 – 46 million. Those numbers are a combination of viewership across linear, on-demand, the now-sunset HBO Go and HBO Now, and other OTT platforms.

[troydivision1]

On 8/6/2024 at 12:33 PM, kimik said:

Per HBO, here’s each season’s average for “Game of Thrones” entire run: Season 1 – 9.3 million, Season 2 – 11.6 million, Season 3 – 14.4 million, Season 4 – 19.1 million, Season 5 – 20.2 million, Season 6 – 25.7 million, Season 7- 32.8 million, and Season 8 – 46 million. Those numbers are a combination of viewership across linear, on-demand, the now-sunset HBO Go and HBO Now, and other OTT platforms.

Was thinking about HotD v GOT as far as a watercooler show on Monday mornings at work.
They aren't even on the same page.
Whilst I have preferred HotD, except for being too 'nicely lit' even when only candlelight is available, I realized what was missing between the two shows...
'Cheesecake' and 'beefcake'; both necessary ingredients for a successful genre TV / Movie adaptation.

[kimik]

On 8/6/2024 at 12:07 PM, troydivision1 said:

Was thinking about HotD v GOT as far as a watercooler show on Monday mornings at work.
They aren't even on the same page.
Whilst I have preferred HotD, except for being too 'nicely lit' even when only candlelight is available, I realized what was missing between the two shows...
'Cheesecake' and 'beefcake'; both necessary ingredients for a successful genre TV / Movie adaptation.

Character development was much better with GoT vs HotD. I could care less about any of the characters on HotD as none of them have been portrayed as having any good/redeeming qualities. You are basically watching a family fight over the estate, with everyone willing to go as low as it takes to win a nickel. Knowing what happens, all you do is look forward for them being picked off when it is their time and hope it comes 2-3 episodes earlier than it likely will be.

In GoT you had the noble Starks vs the evil Lannisters, plus the side of life vs the Night King. That is easier to get invested in. 

I also find the HotD actors/actresses to be bland or wooden. Everyone acts in a similar bland manner. Even when they try to show emotion it comes across as faking it. The GoT cast had better acting talent.

Edited August 6 by kimik