Game of Thrones Discussion

[Trip McNeely]

No guards anywhere? I’m worried this is already turning into the last few seasons of GoT

[nocera]

I know we’ll nitpick and find new ways to hate on the last few GOT seasons, but it feels good to have new GOT again. Just feels right.

And there we go…

[skullman80]

Need to watch a recap video of season 1 first.

[nocera]

No guards anywhere? I’m worried this is already turning into the last few seasons of GoT

The dude who was supposed to be standing guard was busy banging the king’s mom…

[skullman80]

Season 2 of HOTD has been meh to me. It's not actively bad, but I don't really care about any of the people on the show. I feel like I should, but I just don't. Last nights episode was really good though. Finally got a good battle and a legit dragon fight.

[Troy Loney]

The pacing is somewhere between early GOT season and the mid seasons. The story is smaller than the original, and I think that’s its biggest liability. We’re only following two characters (houses), and I think that’s what makes the original so compelling (huge world building) but was also its downfall because there was no plausible closure.

This will end better but lack the buildup of the primary series

[nocera]

This was a weird episode. Next week is the finale and this season has just felt so… boring. Rhaenyra has been useless since fleeing Kings Landing. Daemon is the king of b story bullshit filler. The new characters that we just met in the last few episodes are bland and forgettable. And worst of all is the pacing. So little is happening week to week that even though this season is only 8 episodes, they could’ve easily told this story in 4 or less. I want to love this show but there’s not a lot here.

[Trip McNeely]

This was a weird episode. Next week is the finale and this season has just felt so… boring. Rhaenyra has been useless since fleeing Kings Landing. Daemon is the king of b story bullshit filler. The new characters that we just met in the last few episodes are bland and forgettable. And worst of all is the pacing. So little is happening week to week that even though this season is only 8 episodes, they could’ve easily told this story in 4 or less. I want to love this show but there’s not a lot here.

Yup. It’s just so average. The only character that has any depth at all is Alisont and she is basically neutered now. There’s also such a lack of interesting dialogue. Rhanerya is following the Denaryus tract where she just does these dumb pump up speeches and has almost zero real conversation. Daemons character sort of sucks. Jace is boring. Aemond is not at all scary on the scary scale when you consider characters like Joffrey and Tywin. The plot is actually fine in my mind, but the characters are mostly complete trash

[nocera]

Yeah I think that’s fair. The pacing wouldn’t be an issue if the characters were more fun to hang out with.

[Troy Loney]

Things I don't get right now:

Alicent's story (she's doing like a wilderness retreat right now?)
The Hightowers, is her dad just gone from the show?
Daemon and the Riverlands, maybe they explained why he's important? But like, the dragon fight destroyed the army so that story just seems inconsequential>
The crippled Varys/whisperer character.
At least last night they answered why the show was following those two random characters.

[Trip McNeely]

The more I think about it, the plot is also so basic.

I looked at my wife and said “those two randos are obviously going to survive the dragon killing everyone else”. Nothing is remotely surprising really and the very political aspects of early GoT and season 1 HoD are gone. To me Season 2 is what the last couple seasons were in GoT, but admittedly way better done and with less plot holes

[nocera]

The plot is VERY simple. This is the war of the two kings vs the war of the five kings from GOT. Daemon's side quest and power greed (along with Aemond's temporary stay on the throne) is a weak attempt to add some sort of drama and complexity. Had this come before GOT, I don't think the simplistic plot and slow pace would be a big deal but we know how complex and interesting this world could be and HOTD is just a very simple and slow version of what came before it. And to Trip's point, the characters aren't up to par either. If the writing was top notch and the characters were on point, the simplistic nature of the plot wouldn't matter at all. Take The Bear season 3, for example. That plot moved at a **** snail's pace. But I was entertained throughout because the writing, characters, production, etc. are all so high quality that the pacing of the plot didn't bother me as much as it seemingly bothered others.

[Troy Loney]

I still think the show is awesome. I think the tension and conflict established in season 1 between the cousins stands, and I want to see Alicent and her clan annihilated.

Matt Smith made the Daemon character, it's just unfortunate that he's been on this stupid stand-alone plot for so long.

[skullman80]

I think season 2 has been bad. There are some good individual performances but overall I still care nothing about the majority of the characters.

They spend lots of time on doing nothing. I haven’t seen last nights episode but it sounds like more of the same especially being the second to last episode of the season.

I love the world and the show isn’t as actively awful as the last few seasons of GOT but it’s just there. I wish I liked it more but I just don’t.

[Willie Kool]

The Hightowers, is her dad just gone from the show?

Aemond sent word for him in episode 6 and intends to make him Hand again.

[nocera]

I am whelmed. How the **** is that a finale? This whole season was one painfully slow build up to a payoff that never came. And now we’re expected to wait another 2 years? **** right off.

[skullman80]

Yeah agree 100%. The whole season was just boring. Lots of time nothing actually happened. The season finale was a joke. Hour + episodes every week of nothingness. I get the same info from watching the 13 minute things they show after the episode ends.

[nocera]

This was supposed to be 10 episodes but they cut 2 due to budget. And you can tell.

[Troy Loney]

Finale was lame

So, dumb redemption arcs for Alicent, Daemon, and Aegon? Cristan being emo? And all of a sudden we're making the Lannister guy a primary character?

I'd also argue a bad storytelling at the beginning (show don't tell). So it's supposed to be a big deal that Aemond torched a town, but from that first scene you wouldn't know what actually happened).

[nocera]

‘House of the Dragon’ to End With Season 4, Season 3 to Begin Production in Early 2025
https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/house- ... 236095543/

So that pretty much confirms season 3 won’t air until at least late 2025 but more likely it’ll be 2026. Which means season 4 won’t be until 2028.

Saw a Reddit comment that put it into perspective.
“The show started in 2022 and the third season won't air until 2026? In that timeframe, Game of Thrones aired 5 seasons with 10 episodes each.”

What is they doing?

[skullman80]

Yeah that’s bad. My interest is minimal now it will be nonexistent by then.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Finally caught up and saw season 2 of HOTD. I didn’t think it was terrible but I was waiting for some major development in the season and…nothing. The fact that it took 2 years for this and it’ll take two more years for who knows what is just a way for HBO to destroy interest in the universe

[DigitalGypsy66]

GRRM speaks!

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, for starts. It’s done. Ira and his team wrapped the first season months ago, and moved right on to post production. I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them. Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm. and Tanselle Too-Tall.

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is an adaptation of “The Hedge Knight,” the first of the novellas I wrote about them. It’s as faithful as adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how increedibly reasonable I am on that particular subject). Viewers who are looking for action, and more action, and only action… well, this one may not satisfy you. There’s a huge fight scene here, as exciting as anyone could ask for, but there are no dragons this time around, no huge battles, no white walkers… this is a character piece, and its focus is on duty and honor, on chivalry and all it means. “The Hedge Knight” was published between A GAME OF THRONES and A CLASH OF KINGS in Robert Silverberg’s epic anthology LEGENDS, and was so popular that it brought tens of thousands of new readers to Westeros.

I really like the Dunk & Egg tales as well. Definitely stronger and tighter storytelling than the last couple of ASOFIAF books

https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/202 ... utterings/

[nocera]

So... did he write Winds of Winter yet?

[DigitalGypsy66]

He has not. He does mention that he's got to start work on another novel this year after finishing Winds of Winter though.

I remember people saying he was too old to finish the series a couple of years after Dances with Dragons came out. He'll turn 78 this year.