[Spoilers] Episode 102 Discussion

[butterweedstrover]

33 minutes ago, Zorral said:

For me, far and away the best bit, the bit of dialog that is affecting for the listener, which tells so much about the character, comes from Myseria -- when she tells Daemon she's there, she's with him, because what she wants more than anything is to be in a situation in which she feels safe and not afraid.  She wasn't looking for wealth or marriage but freedom from fear.

The objective of immigrants and slaves from time immemorial.

 

Yeah, but the poor accent ruins. 
 

I mean I liked this episode in the end of the day.

[DMC]

9 minutes ago, C.T. Phipps said:

I mean, the obvious answer is one that the episode repeatedly hammers home: "Viserys is a bad king."

Right I was more saying it was a blind spot of the show - that those around Viserys weren't pressuring him to marry off Rhaenyra as well.

[C.T. Phipps]

10 minutes ago, DMC said:

Right I was more saying it was a blind spot of the show - that those around Viserys weren't pressuring him to marry off Rhaenyra as well.

I wonder if it's because Rhaenys doesn't think that Rhaenyra would be anything other than a spare and doesn't have any interest in her as a future queen.

[Fez]

54 minutes ago, C.T. Phipps said:

Overall, it really does suffer from a lack of humor.

I'll be curious to see if that changes some going forward. Ryan Condal, the co-showrunner, wrote the first two episodes. But per IDMB, he only has 4 writing credits for the whole season; with the other 6 episodes having other writers. Which, if accurate, is a pretty big shift from GoT, where D&D wrote 7.5 of the 10 episodes (and GRRM wrote one of the others) of the first season. 

Showrunning is about a lot more than just writing. If the non-Condal penned episodes feel noticeably better written (though I'll say that despite the lack of humor I do like the writing thus far), I wonder if there will be even more of a shift in season 2. With Condal focusing even more on the other responsibilities and figuring out the overall story structure, and leaving the actual script writing to others.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Fez

[Khloey]

25 minutes ago, C.T. Phipps said:

Well, one is a thirteen year old played by a thirteen year old.

One is a fifteen year old, played by a twenty-two year old.

Emiley Carey was 18 when they shoot the scenes and since Viserys said Rhaenyra was 15 and Alicent is supposed to be a little older, she might 17/18 in the show as well.

[Khloey]

17 minutes ago, DMC said:

Right I was more saying it was a blind spot of the show - that those around Viserys weren't pressuring him to marry off Rhaenyra as well.

They're probably keeping it for another episode ^^ The preview for the 3rd episode suggests that it will soon happen

[C.T. Phipps]

1 minute ago, Khloey said:

Emiley Carey was 18 when they shoot the scenes and since Viserys said Rhaenyra was 15 and Alicent is supposed to be a little older, she might 17/18 in the show as well.

Quite possibly.

I'm just making a crack at Hollywood "Dawson" casting.

[Khloey]

1 minute ago, C.T. Phipps said:

Quite possibly.

I'm just making a crack at Hollywood "Dawson" casting.

I see, though I'd say Rhaenyra's character is more "Dawson casting" since Milly Alcock is 22 ^to play a 15 years old ^^

[DMC]

8 minutes ago, Khloey said:

They're probably keeping it for another episode ^^ The preview for the 3rd episode suggests that it will soon happen

Thanks, haven't watched the preview yet.  Guess I gotta go do that!

[miyuki]

The Laena-Viserys scene was surreal, David Lynch could only dream of something like this. A little black girl asking an old white man to fuck her to preserve ancient dragon nazi bloodlines. 10/10 scene, I couldn't stop laughing.

[slant]

16 minutes ago, Khloey said:

They're probably keeping it for another episode ^^ The preview for the 3rd episode suggests that it will soon happen

Yeah I am surprised there is almost no discussion about the previews, the extras (Behind the scenes and Character Portraits), or HBO's site which all offer clues on where things are going. Things are gonna get pretty epic. 

Feel I'm an outlier for not missing the comedy at all. 

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

18 minutes ago, miyuki said:

The Laena-Viserys scene was surreal, David Lynch could only dream of something like this. A little black girl asking an old white man to fuck her to preserve ancient dragon nazi bloodlines. 10/10 scene, I couldn't stop laughing.

I feel that if they made Laena older, there could have been actual suspense regarding who Viserys was going to marry. As it is, there were many "they're not going to do this on TV in 2022" reaction from viewers.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Takiedevushkikakzvezdy

[C.T. Phipps]

20 minutes ago, miyuki said:

The Laena-Viserys scene was surreal, David Lynch could only dream of something like this. A little black girl asking an old white man to fuck her to preserve ancient dragon nazi bloodlines. 10/10 scene, I couldn't stop laughing.

Despite the controversy for the casting and the trouble objections have brought our forum hosts, I actually love the fuck you this does to people who would co-opt Targaryen blood purity.

The idea that the Dragon Lord Houses were mixed and it was magic not albinism that made them great.

[C.T. Phipps]

5 minutes ago, Takiedevushkikakzvezdy said:

I feel that if they made Laena older, there could have been actual suspense regarding who Viserys was going to marry. As it is, there were many "they're not going to do this on TV in 2022" reaction from viewers.

It shouldn't be topical but given so many states still allow child marriage and the United States is one of the few in the Western world with this problem, the episode taking a massive shot at normalizing such activities is something that deserves a round of applause.

No, sir, it's sick and wrong. No matter what your small council says.

Edited August 29, 2022 by C.T. Phipps

[The Bard of Banefort]

1 hour ago, C.T. Phipps said:

It shouldn't be topical but given so many states still allow child marriage and the United States is one of the few in the Western world with this problem, the episode taking a massive shot at normalizing such activities is something that deserves a round of applause.

No, sir, it's sick and wrong. No matter what your small council says.

I find this comment very interesting, since we’re often called “prudes” for not having a lower age of consent in the US.

[The Bard of Banefort]

I was surprised to see this, but it may be due to how HBO Max crashed during the premiere:

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-episode-2-ratings-viewers-1235352102/

I do wonder if HOTD has a slightly older audience than GOT did, simply because the online community feels much less robust this time.

[The hairy bear]

4 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

I do wonder if HOTD has a slightly older audience than GOT did

Even if it's the same audience... it's ten years older now.

[The Bard of Banefort]

Just now, The hairy bear said:

Even if it's the same audience... it's ten years older now.

Haha that’s a good point. But wouldn’t those people still be on social media?

[Ingelheim]

8/10 episode for me. I like that they are doing time jumps so early, if you watch the preview for episode 3 it seems it will keep happening every episode this season.

 

[miyuki]

7 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

I was surprised to see this, but it may be due to how HBO Max crashed during the premiere:

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-episode-2-ratings-viewers-1235352102/

I do wonder if HOTD has a slightly older audience than GOT did, simply because the online community feels much less robust this time.

Also very surprised but also pleased to see that people still care despite the failings of the later seasons of GoT.