One week ago today I wrote about my first impressions of HBO's prequel to Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon. I mentioned in that post that I was never a huge fan of the Game of Thrones show, and ultimately was one of the many that was disappointed in how it came about reaching its conclusion. My first impressions of this prequel series was met with equal disappointment having witnessed what I would consider an incredibly weak pilot episode that was far too heavy on cheap special effects, poor casting decisions, and also rather cheap costume design which pulled me frequently out of any immersion I had. I found myself laughing at the show more than I was actually enjoying it as was intended by its creators. Though, I knew that this was just a pilot episode, and that it might not be reflective of potential quality going forward.
I decided that I should continue to give the show a chance and see where it goes. Considering that my issues thus far could merely be the show's teething issues as it finds its feet and begins to tell its broader stories within its somewhat tight number of characters so far introduced. I did not have much urge to continue, but today, while waiting for deliveries and the market to open in equities, I chose to catch up and watch the next three episodes that have been released so far. I will still keep things spoiler free, but I will write a little about how I feel about the show at this stage.
Now that I have seen four episodes, some of the issues I mentioned originally seem be improved. One of the things I noticed was that I did not feel as if every male's hair was a blatant wig made of thin plastic. Hair appears to have a bit more of a realistic look to it, this is far from the largest improvement, but one I feel is worth mentioning first! Though it is in the story that I have found myself enjoying the show a bit more, as characters have slowly started to be given more screen time in which their personalities have time to flourish a little more. Things are still very much early on, but one thing in particular that I have heavily enjoyed is the way we have been introduced to the King, Viserys I. Plagued by the many traditions and complications that arise with the loss of his wife, and how the kingdom and government not only expect, but enforce decisions upon his way of life.
Usually we see the ways in which Kings and Queens utilise their power for evil, for circumstances that benefit them directly as they place their people beneath them due to the differences in class and how we perceive royalty. Particularly evident in these medieval fantasy shows in which the disparity between government bodies and the general public, we often see the evil and the greed. Rarely the conflicting emotions and decisions these people face as a result of their positions, where the public often direct their lives through tradition and expectations. We see this unfolding with his character, still grieving but incapable of pursuing his own direction due to his position. Not to forget some strange illness that is appearing. A weak King is indeed an opportunity for the throne, and I suspect the political aspects of the show will increase as people begin to conspire and power becomes more consolidated.
It is very refreshing to have this more considerate approach, and while I have not read any of the books and have no genuine idea of what is to come, I can see how as mentioned above this fragile character in a position of such power may result in political drama, and I certainly do hope that is the case, because the moments that are a bit more fast-paced and full of action are still not quite interesting to me. There is something very off about how they are directed. I noticed in episode three that the action -- without the special effects this is -- seemed like something that would be choreographed for a video game. I found I would disconnect a bit around these moments, where main characters feel invincible in some very cartoonish manner that makes them completely immune to a barrage of arrows raining upon them, or crowds of enemies that they easily cut through.
It is in these action moments that I find myself still somewhat struggling to care. I don't think there has been enough time for characters to develop to give us a reason to really care and consider the risk involved within such scenes. Particularly when the scenes are directed in such a strange way. Very wide angle shots of the battlefield where there is plenty of space, watching them run through the fields like it is nothing. I think we would need to see some more claustrophic action sequences that place the camera, and thus the audience, directly into the cruelty of war when it is presented to us. An outsider's perspective makes things less important, less of a threat as we observe from a safer viewpoint. Game of Thrones did this often, where groups of men were lumped together and the fighting scenes showed it being nothing more than a meat grinder. It gave weight to such scenes and thus displayed the threat the characters faced within them.
My biggest issue with the show at this point is definitely the very cheap and jarring use of special effects, where mostly exterior scenes are quite reliant on them. These scenes show a very bright, smooth location in which it looks as if the environment is very boxed, and smothered in grease as it lacks detail. In fact, in the first screenshot I took for this post you can see a boat treading through the water, leaving no trail behind whatsoever. The water is clearly fake, the environment entirely is very fake. Sometimes it is so obvious that again things look very much like a video game.
Fortunately, interior scenes do not suffer as much, and we see more interior scenes than we do exterior ones. These interior scenes are quite dark, and instead focus heavily on a mixture of warm orange and bright white tones through the creation of artificial and natural light. These scenes actually look quite beautiful in parts, and the cinematography, while not being anything too special in terms of movement, displays quite a pleasant image due to this attention to lighting. While it is a show that is quite heavy on dialogue sometimes, it makes sense to have these more fixed perspectives in which the camera does not move as much. Though we still see these tracking and dolly movements to establish the scene and interior, placing us more into these environments and fortunately promoting more immersion. It certainly works.
For now, I can definitely say I am satisfied with the show. The first episode to me was certainly atrocious, but things have definitely improved as the show slowly begins to find its footing and unveil the broader narrative. I suspect we will see more characters introduced as the show progresses, and I definitely feel it needs it going forward, as things certainly feel quite limited and tight with its current characters. Though, as others have told me, things are supposed to change. I will stick around and continue watching, though I can't say I have been heavily immersed with these four episodes. It has been enough to catch my attention, and we shall see whether it maintains it going forward. It is not terrible, but it could be better.
Wow, primera vez que leo algo que parece sincero y no guiado por la obsesion-fanatismo que tiene esta serie en las personas. Realmente no he visto ninguna, y me atraía o me atrae bastante, aunque no esperaba que tuviera problemas en cosas tan simples como el "cabello" jajajaja...
Saludos ☀️
Haha! I definitely try to critique. I do think Game of Thrones ended terribly for me, and I am not really interested enough to read the books; I don't really read high fantasy books in general. It just does not interest me that much.
I do think there should still be some things to enjoy from this show though, even if you aren't a big fan. It can still offer something. But whether the quality remains is a big question I have.
Un amigo me dijo lo mismo respecto al final, que tampoco le había gustado y eso hizo desinteresarme un poco por la serie, sin embargo, he aprendido que los libros siempre tienen más cosas que ofrecer y si la serie es buena, relativamente buena, seguro que los libros son el doble de mejor. Claro que me gustaría leerlos algún día, aunque es entendible que no te atraigan si no es tu genero o uno que por lo menos te llame la atención.
Esperemos que sí permanezca. Saludos 💚
I have been waiting for the series to finish completely to begin watching it, so there are still a few weeks of waiting for me 🥲
Good to see you are enjoying this series mate, so far many people seem to be enjoyed just like they did with GOT.
I wonder if you have also watched the Lord of the Rings series? It doesn't seem to be as well received as this one by the public? Have you watched it?
I watched the latest episode of The Rings of Power the other night. It really lost me. It just felt like a completely different show. The first two episodes pulled me in, they were not amazing but they had all the good stuff in the right ways. I'm hoping it was a one-off bad episode. It just felt bare, void of any direction and soul. It felt so generic.
Quite funny how my opinions on both shows have just completely flipped, haha.
I would like to see more characters. There must be other Targaryens around the kingdom I guess. It seems like they made the show too much "easy o follow" and more "simple" than Game of Thrones. Besides that it's not bad at all I think.
Yeah for sure. More characters would be great, but I do suspect that'll come in time. It does feel like it's a little safe at the moment, like you said: easy to follow.
I'm surprised, I haven't watched yet but people (Both casuals and critics) seems to be loving this series... I was a fan of Game of Thrones but after the awful ending it got I wasn't interested in anything else from the George R.R Martin Universe... Maybe I Should watch it.
Yeah the same thing happened with me. I was a little late to checking this out, I just didn't care. I still don't all that much. But I'm willing to give it a chance, and following another show that is actually a weekly release to keep up with. Lately I've just been watching things that are already out, I do miss that schedule of having things to look forward to and pace normally.
There is a scene in episode three where I think the character Deamon places the helmet in one place and you can really tell it's plastic. In episode four, when the main character is removing the armor from the other character, you can tell they are plastic, the sound inserted to make it look like metal, it's not enough. If we compare it to the costumes in the movie The Last Duel by Ridley Scott, it is noticeable faster. In that movie, the armors do look real, they seem to have those metal suits.
Well, now Daemon cut his hair short, they look better with short hair without a wig.😅 I also noticed the water detail. Maybe the CGI budget was more invested in recreating the dragons.
The Daemon invincible scene certainly looks like a video game, there is no sense of danger. In The Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones, there were some claustrophobic, tighter shots focused on certain characters. In the battle in the third episode, Daemon looked like he was in a scene from John Wick.
I think you're going to like the changes in the story in the next few episodes.
I saw there was also a mistake in the episode! They didn't properly edit out the green glove used for green screen effects. Many people of course noticed. So I guess things aren't all that different to Game of Thrones' Starbucks coffee days, haha.
I still haven't seen that! I keep forgetting to. I like Ridley Scott, but definitely haven't followed him much in recent years.
Yeah exactly! I keep seeing this in another shows too. The Rings of Power had a few scenes that were similar. Heavy on special effects, editing and choreography straight out of a video game. Slow motion and cartoonish action. Just completely pulled me out of any immersion I had. Perhaps an outcome of the whole Marvel cinema ripple effect?
I’m still shocked at the route the room episode 4. I was expecting sex, but not quite as much as was shown. Especially with certain characters and their age. Easy to see it coming if you read the books though. Looking forward to some of the characters getting older in later episodes.
I can't say I'm all that surprised, haha. What I am surprised of is how they basically went two episodes without going crazy with the sex stuff. I definitely noticed it.
It took a turn. Had to get us warmed up to the idea I guess. Dragon foreplay?
Congratulations @namiks! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next target is to reach 110000 upvotes.
Your next target is to reach 3500 replies.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
He disfrutado los cuatro capítulos con todo y sus pequeños detalles como el cabello de la princesa que por momentos parece que se fuera a caer, me gustaba más el de Daenerys, se veía espectacular.
Me ha gustado ver cambios en los personajes principales y el giro de este último capítulo upps.
I enjoyed the four chapters with everything and its little details like the hair of the princess that at times looks like it was going to fall out, I liked Daenerys' hair better, it looked spectacular.
I liked seeing changes in the main characters and the twist in this last chapter upps.
He disfrutado los cuatro capítulos con todo y sus pequeños detalles como el cabello de la princesa que por momentos parece que se fuera a caer, me gustaba más el de Daenerys, se veía espectacular.
Me ha gustado ver cambios en los personajes principales y el giro de este último capítulo upps.
It is improving for sure! I'm happy to see it. My first impressions were definitely not as strong nor optimistic. But I think with time it should iron out a lot of the weaknesses.
👍
I think that the shows biggest problem is the time jumps. Each episode jumps a few months or even years forward and it makes it all feel disconnected. I just watched episode 5 and next week's episode looks like a decade time jump. I actually didn’t find the show to look cheap, maybe because it looks fancy next to the Amazon Prime shows that have terrible clothe and wigs. As I know where the show is going, I can't wait to see it get there. And have a few fan theories proven right or wrong.