House of The Dragon 3x08 Reaction
im aliiiiive
Comments (18)
The incessant criticisms of this show have become a bit much at this point. It's far from perfect and there are lots of issues with it, but it's not particularly close to the level of GoT season 7 and 8 imo. And with the state of prestige TV currently it's still one of the better ongoing series airing. This comment section has largely become an echo chamber of people complaining about the same exact things over and over each episode and basically writing the same versions of the same comments repeatedly. Which is ironic considering that's one of the main issues with the show. It seems to me a lot of these people need to drop the show altogether. I get it. It's a beloved IP, you love the universe, and you love the source material, but at this point it is clearly not what you want it to be. Again, there are a lot of flaws with the show. It is by no means elite television. But if you're just going to complain about every single scene and plot beat in every single episode, you probably shouldn't keep watching. It's just getting a bit tiresome.
I feel the same. I can totally see some of the criticism and see where people are coming from but like...idk I just liked it? I was emotionally invested in the characters and enjoyed most of the show. It's just a bummer because I was so looking forward to watching people talk about it.
I love how the gold cloaks thing just disappeared at ep 7 and is never addressed again
completely agree with you guys about the lack of emotional investment. ryan condal has a specific idea on what themes he wants to convey but NO clue on how to deliver on emotion. in game of thrones (as flawed as it was) helaena's death would've created breakdowns in the fandom. grrm's main critique in his post-s2 blog post was that helaena "killed herself for no reason" in the initial outline for s3 that he was given, and while that is technically untrue, i understand why he said that. it just feels... empty. even though it was thematically consistent and narratively set-up. helaena's death (as well as b&c) were 2 events i expected to crush me before s2 aired, but after seeing how b&c and its aftermath were handled, i knew i wouldn't be getting anything truly moving. i mean, luke was a nothingburger character in s1, but the anger and sadness people felt watching aemond accidentally kill him was palpable, because of the connection rhaenyra had to her kids in s1. that feeling of true connection and love between characters is gone. it was slowly fading throughout s2, but it's almost completely gone in s3.
To use another Game of Thrones comparison, Blood & Cheese should've been like the Red Wedding. Would there be as much emotional investment in the characters that died in GOT? No, but it should have EVERYONE talking and it should be the undeniable point of no return for the war. It's ridiculous that it's forgotten about a few episodes later and the characters are still talking about peace.
I have never seen a series of comment sections so ridiculously nitpicky on a show as I have with this one. And this is coming from a guy who was a book purist on Game of Thrones
As someone who left a comment that was mostly critical, I will say that overall HOTD isn't a bad show. I suppose I'll always be wanting for more because of how much I love this world, and perhaps I'll always be somewhat disappointed no matter what they come forward with. I still think there are some large glaring weaknesses with the shows writing, some of which can be chalked up to the source material not being GRRM's best, and its unique format in general. I don't envy the writers who for the most part have to come up with characterizations from scratch, along with everything else that isn't just major battles and deaths. It also doesn't help that HBO cut their budget in season 2, which forced them to remove the climax they'd been building to so it could be crammed into season 3. As a result season 3 in effect has only been 6 episodes. They've done really good work with a few of the characters, and most have been at least entertaining or sympathetic. The only really atrocious thing they've done is they way they've written Alicent, which had its roots way back in season 1. I hope season 4 is able to stick the landing, though it might end up really rushed with only 8 episodes.
My biggest disappointment this season is honestly Daeron and Ormund. Ormund ended up being a forgettable evil guy and treated as a joke when he died. As for Daeron, they gave him nothing to do the whole season (Im tired of passive characters in this show). They didnt have him go against his abuser (Ormund) wich is what it seemed it was building to. No scenes with them in the finale and now ormund is dead, this character has a dragon make him use it and earn his title of being The Daring. Also he killed an innocent men in episode 4 and we never acknowledge that again. Gwayne is right there so why doesn’t he talk to Gwayne about it, you would think something like that would affect him a lot.
honestly was at least expecting them to have his "Daring" title, which was given to him by ormund in the show, to be earned (ironically) by him challenging ormund and standing up to him. like, if you're not gonna have him earn it through being daring in battle like in the book, have it be through some other action. you're totally right, his passivity is irritating for a character that was anything but passive in the book. it would've worked better for him since he's only 16, IF ONLY this show wasn't already inundated with passive characters.
I hate that Rhaenyra’s cruel side isnt completely based on the loss of her sons but in this Prophecy that i dont care about
Aegon is such a stand out in this season and the one prior. Tom is perfect in this role
George R.R. Martin made a blog post shortly after season 2 dropped criticizing changes they made, with the centerpiece being the cutting of Maelor, Helaena and Aegon’s third child. In the books Maelor is smuggled out of King’s Landing after Rhaenyra takes the city, but after Rhaenyra puts a bounty on his head he’s torn apart by a mob of smallfolk. Helaena, already in a deeply depressive state since the murder of Jaehaerys, kills herself shortly after news of Maelor’s death reaches her. In his blog post George claims that when seeing the drafts for season 3’s script, Helaena kills herself for no reason since Maelor is cut. Now in season three they kinda included Maelor with the Helaena pregnancy, and that played a large role in her ultimate suicide so he final product isn’t nearly as bad as George claimed, though its possible they altered the script as a result of the blog. Daemon being the one faced with the horrors of war would make more sense to me if they’d continued the perceived character development from season 2 after his stay at Harrenhal. Instead they have him and Rhaenyra have the same back and forth that they’ve been having since season 1 where he presses her to be more violent while she tries to temper him. In contrast, book Daemon at several points is actually quite reasonable and measured in his approach. When the Dance starts its Rhaenys who suggests using the power of their dragons to win the war, while Daemon suggests finding allies among the great houses. He is also the biggest advocate of the dragonseeds, suggesting they be made powerful lords and given the castles of men who supported Aegon. I thought it was a bit cheap to have him be the one constantly antagonizing Ulf because while he is arrogant, he should be smart enough to know that insulting them is a poor strategic move. Rhaenyra finally going down a dark path after two seasons of indecisiveness has been good to see, though I wish it had been done earlier. I do like how the final breaking point was a challenge to her self righteousness with Aegon’s resurrection serving as a sign that she isn’t the chosen one. Her eye makeup is also supposed to make her look more reptilian from what I’ve heard. Alicent continues to be the worst written aspect of the show, but that again has been talked to death.
People seem to forget that in the blog post George also mentioned that Maelor was possibly going to be introduced by making Helaena pregnant. I don't think that was done to appease George at all, especially with the butterflies at the end that feel like a twisting of the knife.
As someone who really loves this franchise, it’s a shame that House of the Dragon has largely been mediocre for the past two seasons. Season one had its flaws, but it certainly had a lot of heart and really drew you in to connect with a lot of the characters. As you say, the show isn’t boring, but there is a lot less weight to the characters now. It's especially strange since the finale was the first major battle since episode two. I suppose the issue is that a lot of the discussions going on have just seemed repetitive. For what I really liked this season, Gwayne continues to stand out, especially considering he’s basically an original character who only shares a name and relation to Alicent with his book counterpart. The Tumbleton plot with Ormund, Daeron and later Gwayne was one of the better parts of the season, though I still am mixed on how Ormund was written. He’s an over the top villain in the first episode he’s properly introduced, and then is made less and less intimidating with each following episode. By the time he dies he’s more of a clown than a serious menacing threat. If they were just going to make him evil they should have at least committed to keeping him threatening. Aegon is also one of the best parts of the show, and his reunion with Aemond is a highlight. It’s funny seeing how much you hated him in season 1 compared to season 2 and 3. I honestly think the way he was written in season 1 was just a heavy handed attempt to make the conflict over the throne less morally ambiguous. They made Rhaenyra’s rival for the throne a ridiculously evil rapist whose main pastime is watching little kids fight to the death which doesn’t match at all with him being either comic relief or an object of pity in the following seasons.
I've been waiting for Rhaenyra have more flaws but it was a bit too sudden this episode. She's even dumber than Cersei, who at least killed the High Septon in private and not with a bunch of witnesses. The costume with the smudged makeup is ridiculously on the nose. I just wish the writers had given us this Rhaenyra after her sons died, it would have felt more coherent but it feels like they wanted to delay it so they could have a big moment in the season finale.
We've seen her grow more and more callous with each episode but it still feels like a jump to have her murder the High Septon and give an unhinged rant to the people. I suppose Aegon's resurrection was such a deeply personal blow that cut to the core of her insecurities about being the rightful heir, and that's what finally caused her to snap.
Im aaaLAIIIIVe best meme of the last few weeks!!
“IM ALIVE….IMBECILE”