https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNwwt25mheo
Co-created by GRRM. Ramin Djawadi returns as composer.
Coming sometime in 2022.
Wonder if the reception of the GoT finale will neuter engagement with this series. I'll definitely give it a chance, but I'd be more excited had Benioff and Weiss stuck the landing.
I was more excited about the Long Night series that HBO bailed on after they filmed the pilot. This, to me, is pretty much the least interesting possible angle on the GoT story world.
I mean, I'll still watch it.
"You like dragons? Here are all the dragons."
I'm not sure this will work.
I dunno, I think there's a lot of potential with the Targaryens. I haven't read Fire & Blood yet, but I assume the historical Targaryens have more potential for viciousness and backstabbing than even the contemporary GoT houses. If they achieve a good balance between palace intrigue and dragons, this might work.
Quote from: ©brad on October 06, 2021, 05:06:47 PM
Wonder if the reception of the GoT finale will neuter engagement with this series. I'll definitely give it a chance, but I'd be more excited had Benioff and Weiss stuck the landing.
Personally I think sentiment on GoT's ending has curdled to an unreasonable degree.
I'm not saying Lost and GoT have equally good endings, but they're pretty similar in my view. GoT had some bad episodes in its final season (maybe just one, really), but I actually loved the finale.
Both shows also have some truly bananas moments/developments in their final season that are apparently unpopular but that I will defend to my grave:
In Lost it's the cork, in GoT it's King Bran.
I was naive to resist high expectations. This is spectacular. Sapochnik is a master. The first half of this premiere is a sneaky slow build. A half hour later, I'm fully, unequivocally invested in every atom of this show. What an ending!
People feared a dragon showcase, but thusfar it's anything but. We're back to Game of Thrones roots.
The only cause for concern is the story being far more morally black & white with some very clear heroes and villains. But given the level of GRRM's involvement, I trust we're in good hands.
At this point, Princess Rhaenyra strikes me as a Daenerys do-over – a dragon queen we can root for til the end. No complaints, though. Definitely working for me so far.
Rhaenyra is instantly likeable, almost our POV/audience surrogate at times, so I wonder if there's anything to come that will complicate her character. She's certainly not power-hungry. She seems compassionate, but she hasn't had enough scenes to explore that part of her character yet. She flinched at the death and violence at the tournament but wasn't horrified by it.
I'm still bitter because I wanted the Long Night spin-off with Naomi Watts instead of this, but yeah, I'll watch it.
I started reading the "no book spoilers" thread for this on Reddit and pretty much instantly saw several book spoilers. Nothing that wasn't telegraphed in the premiere, though, honestly.
But it does bring up a few concerns...
SPOILERS for the premiere + very light book spoilers
It was kind of a surprise learning that this show plans to lean into morally gray characters even more than GoT, because based on the premiere I was actively concluding the opposite.
My issue is mostly with Daemon Targaryen. I think they gave him way too many villain moments in the first episode. Sure there's definitely stuff that makes you doubt how bad he actually is, but I had already so thoroughly turned against him. He has a soft spot for his niece and might actually be loyal to his brother – okay, so what? That's hardly enough to make him likeable, especially considering what an obnoxious and detestable person he appears to be in all other ways.
I guess my point is, the Daemon Targaryen rehabilitation is coming soon. I'm open to it, but it's going to take some work. GRRM says Daemon is his favorite Targaryen character because of how morally complex he is. This wouldn't be the first time I haven't agreed with George on the moral status of a character, though. We'll see.
The other incoming gray character turns (which have already been set up) should be very fascinating.
One more thing. Based on the broad strokes I was familiar with, I expected the succession crisis to be far more ambiguous. But when you have the king explicitly choosing his successor, and every powerful person in the realm swears loyalty to that successor... well, that seems pretty clear-cut. That process should override what comes next (being purposefully vague). The only legit complication would be the king changing his mind on his death bed, but only some people hear it. But even that seems extremely weak compared to the already-completed very public and official coronation of his daughter.
'House Of The Dragon' Co-Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik Steps Down Ahead Of Season 2 (https://deadline.com/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-showrunner-miguel-sapochnik-steps-down-season-2-1235104770/)
QuoteDeadline has confirmed that Miguel Sapochnik is stepping down after serving as co-showrunner for Season 1 of the Game of Thrones spinoff.
Sapochnik has spent three years on the project and the move will now see House of the Dragon co-creator Ryan Condal, who was co-showrunner with Sapochnik in Season 1, serve as sole showrunner. Condal will continue to work closely with series co-creator George R.R. Martin and the rest of the producing team. Sara Hess and Jocelyn Diaz will also continue as executive producers, along with Vince Gerardis.
Alan Taylor, a Game of Thrones veteran, will also join as a director and exec producer on the second season of the show, which was renewed just days after its successful launch.
I would love an explanation for this. It did seem a bit unorthodox to have a "writer showrunner" and a "director showrunner," so maybe they found that was unnecessary.
Welp, it turns out Alan Taylor is replacing Sapochnik. Quite a downgrade.
Milly Alcock's performance is a masterclass in naturalistic acting. I'm stunned.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on September 13, 2022, 02:09:17 AMMilly Alcock's performance is a masterclass in naturalistic acting. I'm stunned.
I'm not a fan of the show, but she's been impressive. That said, she's also shining due to the fact that she is playing with actors making their shin shiver to show emotion.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on September 13, 2022, 02:09:17 AMMilly Alcock's performance is a masterclass in naturalistic acting. I'm stunned.
Can you elaborate on that? I'm not sure I know precisely what you mean by 'naturalistic' acting.
I guess I mean the opposite of theatrical. Playing to closeups rather than the back row. But that's not exactly what I mean, either, because she's not extremely subtle. It's just that every sentence and every reaction seems really organic and realistic.
MINOR SPOILER: From this last episode, I'm thinking of the very beginning of the Criston Cole scene especially.
Yeah, she's definitely the best part of the show right now, and it's making me dread the impending time jump a little bit.
This show's biggest visual hurdle for me continues to be the 'dragon' bits. Especially when there's an actor on the mount/saddle - it feels a bit Richard Donner esque, like there's an uncanniness between the sky and the actor always. Having read the book, the dragons will only become more plentiful and I wonder how much that may irk casual audiences.
Also, it's fucking hilarious that the running gag of Muppet-named characters in the books didn't get altered for the HBO series. Grover Tully begets Elmo Tully begets Kermit Tully.
Yeah, lots more dragon material plus a noticeably smaller VFX budget has not proven itself to be a sustainable combination. Also, the dragons are boring and plot-breaking and I'm rooting for their swift extinction, but that's a separate point.
I'm also not thrilled with the dragon effects, but given the ratings this show is getting, I'm hoping for a higher budget for next season.
This episode was nonstop unease and tension for me, i.e. exactly what I wanted. I couldn't wait for it to end but never wanted it to end.
Daemon continues to elicit nothing but eyerolls from me. He's a thug and a manchild and I'm just not particularly interested in his inner life. But what they're doing with Alicent is great. I can dislike her but still be fascinated by how she got where she is.
Quote from: polkablues on September 26, 2022, 04:45:59 PMAlso, the dragons are boring and plot-breaking and I'm rooting for their swift extinction, but that's a separate point.
I think this story will avoid the "dragons are too powerful and make things one-sided" problem. (I haven't read F&B but am vaguely aware of what's coming.)