House of the Dragon (spoilers with opinion)

Well in non-spoiler reviews it’s hard to really get across the problems and points so from now on I will be doing Spoiler reviews with my points why.

I am going to start now with a review of Episodes 1 and 2 and start off with a qualifier, I am a book reader and know the Lore, but even at that would love some twist and turns and true intrigue, so much so it makes me questions if they will stay with the books or actually change things.

Let me start with King Viserys I Targaryen;

His appearance is different from the books, but that is not a problem, so was Tyrion’s.  My issues are Killing off the Queen, then in the same episode less than 5 minutes we already know who he will remarry.

Come on, take an entire season and build it up, have multiple houses jockeying to have their daughters be the next, give us plotting and maneuvering between the houses. Things that made GOT s-1 through 4 grate to watch. Do it in a way you have even book readers questioning if you had changed it.

But instead, we get a walk through the gardens that was extremely uncomfortable, not just bordering pedophilia but actually openly talking about it (she is 12) yes, the actress is older 22, but none the less cringe. Some have said they were uncomfortable and that is a good description, to me this was over a line when they talked about the “bedding”. That was not called for, we all knew without it being discussed.

Now comes the announcement, were any of you shocked? Surprised? No, of course you were not, this was seen coming from miles away, even the actors did not seem surprised.

Now let turn to Otto Hightower,

They are trying to make him a combination of Varys, Littlefinger and Tywin Lannister. Well first to anyone thinking he is even close to Tywin is a fool. Tywin would never have been so stupid as to go to Dragonstone with 20 house guards, 2 Kings Guard and a handful of other redshirts. There is possibly 1,000 Gold Cloaks on the island, and let us be honest A DRAGON. This fool was about to be dragon doodoo.

Nor is he in the same league as Varys or Littlefinger, they can try to put that lipstick on this pig but its still a pig. Do not get me wrong “Rhys Ifans” is a good actor, but the writing has him less than meh and in fact acting like a Villain and Fool. Again, this could have been fixed by simply not rushing the first season and have many houses trying to marry off a daughter. Also, by not having him try to go up against a dragon that was stupid.

Alicent Hightower;

Meh that is really all I can say about her. She reminds me of a Sansa from GOT, not the books and is being used by her father Littlefinger… I mean Otto. There is not that much there for me to like or be invested in. The actress to play her older-self better bring something to the table or she will be very forgettable.

On to Rhaenys Targaryen;

Is their any doubt in anyone’s mind they are trying to make her Lady Olenna Tyrell? That vibe hit me instantly in her talk to the Princess.

And that brings me to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen;

In the first episode she was “ok” at best, but knowing they are going to bring in a second actress to play her “older-self” had and still has me concerned if it will work. I would like to get invested in her as the story is really about her in many ways. Yet I do have pause knowing the other actress will be coming in. Aging her up with make-up might have been smarter, but we will see.

I did enjoy her youthfulness and her clear ability to think and be herself. She was being a young girl in a court as a princess. No issues there. Her interaction with her uncle in the throne room was nice and I appreciated they spoke in High Valyrian, it did add to the scene.

Her coming in to save Otto was just bad writing. But the scene with her and her uncle was very well done. Again, High Valyrian spoken added to the scene as did the clear affection the two have for each other. Oh yes in that Very Targaryen sort of way.

But when she returned and the scene with the King being mad at her for all 30 seconds, it was unbelievable to me. He acted (and might I add bad acting) anger or was it concern? I sure could not tell, as she quickly dismissed him and it and went and sat down.

Let’s do this, Prince Daemon Targaryen:

Matt Smith was born to play this part. He has nailed every bit of the Book and Lore of Prince Daemon Targaryen. A quote I loved about him from the cannon’s is this:

“Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men and monsters. Prince Daemon was both. In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, and so reviled in all Westeros. He was made of light and darkness in equal parts. To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.”

This sums him up and we have seen it. His love for his family and even to the people, yet his ruthlessness toward criminals and those opposing him. He brings High Valyrian to life (Imo better than even Emilia Clarke) It is much more polished from him and his delivery is Nobel.

He has the arrogance of a ruler yet the compassion of a loving Brother and Uncle. Let’s face it Matt is the true star of this series so far.

Every scene he is in he nails and makes believable, the chemistry between him and the Princess is there and hinted subtly at. This is how it should have been done between King Viserys and Alicent. Build it up take your time and surprise the viewers.

So that is the characters I want to make mention of. On to the other aspects. Onto the other parts.

Starting with pacing;

Have you guessed I am no fan of the speed they are moving this at. It is to fast and really heading for a S-8GOT disaster if they do not slow down and tell a good story building up suspense, intrigue and getting us invested in what should be key players and motives.

CGI;

For the most part it is good, however twice I have been less than impressed, both times with Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon. They better fix the look of riders and dragons before the Dance or it will be laughed and destroyed on every social media platform and what Youtubers will do to it will make even Rings of Amazon look pale in comparison.

Music;

Not much to say, it is GOT quality. Very well done and fitting for the show.

Acting;

Meh, that is it “meh” with the exception of Matt smith and a little bit of Milly Alcock starting to shine when they are together. The rest is seeming the writers looked at the original show and are trying to make these actors hybrids of the characters we loved on it, instead of giving us new characters to love.

I am not knocking the actors; I am knocking the hell out of the writers. I cannot be the only one to see this, though right now it’s a new shiny thing that is pretty and people are wanting to like it. But sooner or later the shine will age and people will see through it.

Action;

I am really not looking for much action, until we get to the Targaryen Civil War (aka) “The Dance of the Dragons.” I am perfectly fine with great story and intrigue, give me twist and turns I could not see coming. Have build up and pay-off. Make me question things and speculate.

But Action, I can wait for the massive dragon battles or even some decent use of the Dragons. This is the height of Targaryen power. Many are Riders and we can be given little bits of their power, so when that civil war comes, we understand the power of the dragons and how dangerous it really can be wielded by true dragon riders, well bonded with their mounts and in control of them.

The tournament was well done and had they stuck to it instead of the death of the queen, it would have been hundreds of times better. I dislike cut-a-ways like that, it might be just me personally, but give me action and stick to it. Give me other scenes and do them well, but do not do the mingling of them it Detracts from both.

I want to like the show as I did enjoy the Dance of the Dragons and the lore to it. Even going in knowing this is like the Titanic and what happens in the end. I do have a massive distrust for HBO, they proved they can screw up a wet dream more than once. And again, they are so far making me have concerns for that to happen again. What is it they say about insanity? Doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different outcome. How many times will we trust HBO? I also have a bad taste in my mouth now from recent comments from people associated with the show. Did y’all not learn your lesson from D&D? Tell these people shut their cock-holsters about “identity politics and social agenda” You are going to put off the fans quickly by shooting your mouths off.

Two episodes in and “Meh” is the best I can say. Barely scraping a 5 on a scale of 0 to 10. Without Matt Smith it would be a 2.5 to 3 at best.