This review will contain fewer jokes than usual, because House of the Dragon actually isn’t complete, unmitigated nonsense like everything else being released at the moment. It will be followed by a She-Hulk livestream, where there will be a lot of jokes.

One thing that I think you miss as to Martin’s stance on morality. On the surface, he seems to be rejecting the “honorable and heroic”, but he actually is exploring the dichotomy between morality and selfishness very well, not just saying “nuh-uh” to Tolkien. This is very well detailed by the state of Houses Stark and Lannister. In the books, it’s clear that Tywin Lannister’s brutal means are effective (in the short term) but do not lead to staying power or loyalty. Even when Tywin was still alive, his Allies were trying to grasp and use him for everything he was worth, and did not have any kind of loyalty to him. After he died, the Lannister regime is rapidly collapsing and they are quickly losing what power they had. Meanwhile, the Starks are seemingly all but destroyed but you have the entirety of the North clamoring at a chance to put a Stark back in Winterfel. The loyalty to the Starks has also saved the Stark children left and right, just look at the mountain clans and how determined they are to save “Ned’s little girl” two years after the man is dead and his house is completely removed from power. Hell, the Starks are so loved in the North that their name even has weight among the wildlings beyond the wall, who notoriously disregard family lines and “kneelers”. Martin’s world is very cynical, but it’s also a treatise on how and why morality matters in a dark world. Further, it makes heroism and justice more meaningful if it’s that much more extraordinary compared to the darkness of the rest of the world.

I wouldn't call it an abortion sequence. They weren't trying to kill the child, but to deliver him.

They gambled heavy on Matt Smith and as the first episode hook he single handedly carries the show. His character will either become a benchmark of lawful evil hightier villainy... or end up completely flanderized.

The pre-planned dialogue doesn't bother me, I'm just pleased to watch something that doesn't see me as a child or a moron. Great video

Earlier in the week an article in The Guardian stated that the Rings of Power is "...so astounding it makes House of the Dragon look amateur." Me: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I think one of the biggest problems with how Game of Thrones declined and collapsed is that the show runners seem to have been convinced that people primarily watched the show for dragons and....bewbs. I'm sure some did, however it was in story and the characters that drew most people back for more. That also became a problem as seasoned actors, who played interesting characters, were dispatched as their characters reached the end of their story. A significant chunk of the main cast at the end didn't have the acting chops to keep the show going, and when you couple that with the writing collapsing without source material, it was the Titanic going down from there.

23:30 "Actually, there is less time than that for it (Aemma's death) to be felt by the characters involved, (...) with little time for what shpuld have been a character defining moment." It WAS a character defining moment. You're just not invested enough/don't understand the characters enough to see it yet. Come back to this in a few seasons and revisit that comment. After Aemma's death: 1. Rhaenyra became depressed and stopped speaking to her father because her father killed her mother in a quest for a male heir. 2. Daemon acted out with the 'heir for a day' comment, and 3. Viserys disinherited Daemon out of anger, and named Rhaenyra his heir out of guilt. Guilt because he his quest for a male heir killed his beloved wife. It's the event that set the whole show in motion, and the characters are still talking about it and living in it's aftermath 3 episodes later. Viserys an alcoholic by episode 3 because of this event. If you don't think it's a character defining monent, you're just not following the story adequately.

When it comes to the Martin's source material for this story, it differes from GoT in that this story has not been written in novel form, House of the Dragon's original material is from the book that is written like a history book, Martin wrote it from the point of view of a historian from that world who's recording history, often giving different versions of some events and leaving some without a definitive conclusion. So it has a layout for the overall story and events but also has room to develop characters the way they want and to show how some events happened. For example, the queen dying at childbirth is something we know happened, but we don't know in wich way it happened.

I'm afraid I must disagree with your assessment of the theme of aSoIaF, while it is grittier and more cynical than Tolkien's works, I don't feel that the ultimate message is that morality is a hindrance and only the cynical and ruthless prosper. The issue, as you have pointed out, is the GRRM has not, and probably never will, finish the series. It's like if George Lucas had never released Return of the Jedi, Star Wars would appear to be a very fatalistic story in which the Rebels lose and it is the iron will of the Empire which is victorious, the heroes of aSoIaF are currently languishing in the "all hope is lost" section of the narrative, but I don't think that means they'll stay there. People look at the fact the Lannisters hold King's Landing, and the Boltons Winterfell, and deduce that the message of story is that only vicious, backstabbing, honourless bastards like Roose and Tywin prosper, but miss that their rules are about to collapse. Tywin is dead and no one cares, Cersei is pissing away his legacy like it's a speedrun, all of his vassals, his reputation was useless the moment he died, Jaime is starting his redemption arc and realising that in this fucked up world keeping your word is actually useful. Roose is trapped in a castle full of people who hate him, his son is a violent psychopath who won his victory by stabbing someone who trusted him in the back, and has run out of tricks now that everyone knows his true nature, and is now a liability with his violent abuse of "Arya" (Jeyne Poole), and the somewhat open secret that he killed his wife Lady Hornwood making the Lords uncomfortable and angry, his wife's family don't trust him due to the suspicious circumstances his trueborn son died in, and the few lords he does have backing him are all kept in line by hostages that won't last for ever. Meanwhile, Stannis has rallied and army of Northerners to march on Winterfell, and they are marching for the memory of Ned. The ruthless, brutal, and honourless actions of Tywin and Roose have won them no friends, it is a power that will not last beyond their death, if it doesn't collapse around them before that. Meanwhile, Ned and Robb, whom people deride as being weak for their honour, have people willing to fight and die for their family, in their memory, years after their deaths. I am no nearly so confident as to what GRRM's aims are with his man vs nature conflict with the Others, so it is entirely possible that the only way it can end is with most everyone dead, I certainly can't see it ending like the show, I believe he has made it quite clear that he doesn't want the message of his books to be "you can just stab climate change to death". But before that, we will see the collapse of the Lannister and Bolton dynasties, because while the nature of man to produce people like Tywin and Roose, who do well in the short term, history has shown that it is societies led by people like Ned which prosper in the long term, you cannot build an empire that lasts on fear and blood alone.

Vis didn't have to choose between the life of his wife OR his child. The maesters said she was going to die either way. So, check yourself on that one. The real subtle take away is if the maesters we're telling the truth or not. As You'll see as the season goes on they are up to some shit

It’s fascinating listening to this having seen the whole season. I haven’t read any of the books past Game of Thrones. I definitely enjoyed it more because I didn’t have the same problem connecting to the characters. Some of the examples of expository dialogue that brought up as a problem actually worked for me because the information is generally part of the character trying to argue a point. They are stating things another character may already know because they are pushing a conflicting evaluation of how those facts relate and their implications. Through these exchanges we see character traits and goals impacting how characters relate to each other and few relationships are the same throughout the season. I didn’t lose track of information or people as they were introduced. I liked popping in and out of their lives to see how the various events that seem only lightly addressed in the moment gained weight as the consequences snowballed. I’m eager for the next videos so I can see how many of these criticisms remain and what others he has as the story progresses Also, emergency C-section in a world lacking the medical technology to save the mother after the fact is not abortion. The choice presented in these situations as they occur in the show is “let them both die because the baby can’t be delivered” OR “attempt to remove the baby surgically. The mother dies either way.

"The problems with this show are less stupid and more technical". This is my biggest take away. HoTD is not a perfect show, but it is obvious the writers are trying and making a concerted effort to deliver a good show considering they weren't sure they'd get a second season. If they keep working in good faith i have confidence this will turn out to be as good as thrones was in its hey day.

Never heard dialogue sounding near perfect could even be considered a criticism although I completely understand the point. I agree

In the beginning of episode 2 they weren't talking about who can replace Daemon in the second scene, the lord commander of the Kings Guard died, and since they need to have always 7 guards, they had to pick someone new to fill the ranks.

Looking forward to hear this :) She-Hulk's last Episode was a Disaster, even on Twitter ppl are mostly negative these days.

I sort of prefer this approach though; House of the Dragon rewards it’s fans for digging deeper by reading the book or watching deeper lore videos. Not only does it make the story stronger but also hooks you deeper into the overall story without having to be spoon-fed everything.

I love House of the Dragon. But I can't decide if I love it so much because it's actually good, or if it's because everything else has been so bad that it makes this look brilliant.

I was completely unfamiliar with the lore and I had ZERO issue following anything, nor did I think the dialogue was overtly expositive. I think your reaching hard to poke holes in a very well written show.

I saw you on Drinker’s stream, and came over to sub. First off, I thought this was a really good video, and I mostly agree with everything. That being said, I’m a huge fan of Martin’s writing. He does seem to over Indulge in some of the more vulgar details, but he explores some interesting themes and elements. An example is, it’s easy to do the right thing when it benefits you, but what about doing the right thing when it costs you dearly? Sadly, I as well don’t think he will finish the series. Once he turned bitter towards the fans, that was it.

I love the princess’ character. It’s obvious the show is going to follow her arc but she isn’t a mary sue. she is flawed, makes mistakes and uses her brains and emotional influence to win battles instead of magically being the bestest fighter eveeerrrrr!!

I don't care about this show too much, but will watch this with interest

27:58 Try the same thing with the first episode of Game of Thrones. I wouldn't be able to name hardly any, and I couldn't tell you a single thing about most of their backgrounds. This is weird. Also, that's very subjective and will vary greatly between people.

I'm finding this to be a decent show so far. I'm watching it tentatively. It won't heal the wounds season 8 created but it's good at the moment.

Love that you’re able to give credit where due. Respecting the audience too much is the kind of content I gravitate towards.

I really thoroughly disagree with your appraisal of A Song of Ice & Fire -- that it's "unendable." There is absolutely a satisfying ending that Martin has the shape of. He's just gotten to distracted by side plots and worldbuilding to get there.

This is one of the best "Show Writing" analysis I have ever listened to. Thank you and good job.

You are the first reviewer I've wanted to shout YES! THANK YOU at. The unending and overwrought praise for a show racing much too fast through a story is making me crazy. People only think it's Shakespeare because of the complete dross they are comparing it to. It's nowhere near as good as the first season of Game of Thrones. It's a pity they couldn't get enough time to tell the story correctly. At least they are trying. But the endless praise makes me think everyone has lost their minds. Thank you for explaining for me what I have been groaning about since the shows started. I shall send people here for coherent and logical explanation of why it could be so much better, and to stop comparing it to garbage. It should be compared to Game of Thrones.

I think the comparison to Game of Thrones isn't that necessary because the first Part of the series, as my sister told me who read and loved the books it is based on, doesn't really explore the Part of the Story where Viserys still has his first wife. She Was actually surprised that the Episode started that early in the history because she thought that it would just start with Alicent and Viserys already married and Rhaenyra already a grown woman. So the series choosing to start earlier is very good I think, to build a Story and not just say what happens to Rhaenyras mother etc. But they then can't spend half of the season on this Part of the Story because it isn't even supposed to be in the Story at all

Kinda leaning with Mauler, so far so good but I'm still recovering from the end of last time. They've got a long way to go to earn my trust.

i did not read the books found no trouble jumping in where house of the dragon started at all loved this show every bit of it

YEs friend, i could and have imagined the book series ending as it should. I think every book reader has. Its quite obvious from a spiritual point of view. Its not going to be a good ending.or a bad - it can only be bittersweet much like Martin said. But what i see as the ending is the resurgence of honour and morality in the face of the aftermath of the long night. People in Westeros will realize just what their lack of giving a shit and backstabbing has done to the world around them due to the long night and a society of morality will be raised in its place by necessity, but not without many deaths. Therefore - bittersweet. You see, while George Martin may be the anti Tolkien - the ending to his story can only ever be the pro tolkien - its just that it comes with a heavy price - just like in real life

He doesn't choose between his wife or his heir, she is dead either way. He does rob her of agency.

I think the birth scene simply shows how difficult childbirth was at the time and especially with a woman who may decided to not have a child. Some of the dialouge earlier descibed the birthing bed as a place for war. I thought that was a weid take.

I don't agree that Game of Thrones, or A Song of Ice and Fire, couldn't end because of the bleak nature of the show and books. It could have just committed to the darker ending, which would've been easier if the White Walkers hadn't been defeated so (relatively) easily.

The showrunners thought they were being a bit clever when they said the birthing scene was a commentary on the Roe v Wade situation, basically trying to retcon it into something it wasn't.

Even though I'm hearing vaguely positive things about this show, I just have no faith that it will stick the landing. If they're anything like other modern shows, the first half of the season will be front-loaded with the better content and then it'll just drop off a cliff. I think I'm going to wait until the full season is out before deciding whether I want to risk what happy memories I have of the earlier seasons of GoT by exposing myself to this prequel. I suspect that much of the positive press it is receiving now is the result of the "Mandalorian effect"; IE after being exposed to absolute garbage like season 8 of GoT or the Star Wars sequel trilogy, people will happily settle for inoffensive mediocrity and fanservice.

Ah, House of the Dragon: George R. R. Martin, at a thorough loss as to what to do with the last batch of characters he created, has apparently decided to make a whole new lot in hopes he will suddenly gain a clue as to what to do with these. No, thank you. I'm good. He fooled me the first time, but I'll be damned if I pay this man any more money, only to find myself abandoned again, just when the destination is finally within sight.

I think your argument about being "thrust into" the world without understanding the people or the world is a misunderstanding. The first 5 episodes are basically a prologue. So basically the important people are the only ones who really matter in the prologue. it's setting up basically the key 8-12 mainish characters and their relationships. I agree with most of your other points and it definitely could have been handled much better. It was a tough task to write the first season due to the time jumps. Season 2 will slow down a lot I imagine and things will progress more naturally and at a Game of Thrones pace.

7:45 "normies being what they are, a constant let down", 8:40 "the continuing farce that is the MCU" 35:40 "she takes an immediate liking to him because he's actually stuck his sword in interesting places, and she would, presumably, quite like to experience that first hand, as would we all" 🤣this is why I keep coming back to your channel. You're a guilty pleasure of mine, one that doesn't involve metaphorical vegetables, nor toys with plenty of batteries 😏

With the retrospective of having watched up to ep 7 so far, I must say the part I dislike the most by far is the opening. It's nonsensical and ugly. Everything else is just... good. I think the show is a solid 7.5/10, and I surprisingly didn't hate the time jumps and actor swaps like I thought I would. Ep 6 felt a bit daunting at first, but I've definitely come to like the new actors, especially older Alicent.

Considering all the review channels today, show creators should strive for complex stories that can be thought provoking, more rewatchable, and therefore more readily discussed by viewers and reviewers. Granted Shulk is getting more reviews that tend to be twice as long as the episodes but I really don't think it's for the reason the writers wanted.

Actually I haven't seen or read Game of Thrones but by episode 2 I was totally invested in House of the Dragon, and really enjoyed it.

The time jumps were jarring at times. Just as soon as you're getting comfortable with/understanding the characters, you get yanked a couple years in the future. The actress for young Rhaenyra carried the show and then they drop her by episode 6.

I haven't read the book but I do know the overarching plot and there is a reason the early episode character intros aren't as luxuriously paced as GoT.

I started Got season 1 while season 3 was on, because my friend told me about it. She told me Sean Bean was in it. I started it because of Sean Bean and I when he died I continued it because of Tywin. (whos my favorite character in the entire show) When he died I watched it cause I wanted the white walkers to win. Needless to say I was disappointed. I didn't even finish the show lol. I don't really care about HOD.

Considering you don’t know what happens in the story, the time jumps (and the results of those time jumps with the story) can be jarring. But without these time jumps, the show would be stuck in maybe 2 to 3 seasons doing nothing, because many players of these new games *SPOILER* . . . . . . . . . Haven’t been born yet. Game of Thrones happens in less than 10 years (show wise). HOTD’s main plot points happens between 2 to 3 years with the set up to those years happening for at least 2 decades.

I had no knowledge of the books and I still enjoy the world very much. The story feels natural to me. It has all the good parts of GoT and nearly none of the bad of said series.

I'm really enjoying your complex critiques and sense of humour in your reviews. Great work sir, keep it up!!!!!

“Water is like liquid elevator music.” -Bilbo Baggins

Despite not having read the books I think I might be on to what they strive to accomplish with this approach to story telling. As far as I understand from some minor spoilers and floating information, the first 5 episodes of the show are supposed to be more or less like a prologue. Also important to note that apparently even the actors for some of the major characters are going to be different past episode 5. So I think from this perspective it makes sense that they are deploying the 'tell not show' approach to the story, because at this point perhaps we are not really supposed to get too invested into these characters or at least not to this specific time of their lives. This will certainly lessen the impact of actor change and also will allow them to flip it around the other way when the 'main' story begins. This will create a great contrast and make the show feel a lot more epic after the halfway point of the season. Just a theory though.

First I want to say, what an awesome video. It’s always a treat being able to see your mind at work. I’m sticking with this show for the sole reason that a show in 2022 is not pandering to ADHD rattled TikTok brains It’s almost a breath of fresh air in what would normally be considered a slog of a season starter. Don’t get me wrong, GoT was also a slog during its whole initial first season. But it was also new. And it paid forth your efforts at the end of the season with something that wasn’t very common in cinema in general. I’m willing to give this show a chance for the sole reason as mentioned above. And I honestly hope it succeeds in all the ways that matters. In any case great video. I’m excited to see your analysis of The Rings of Power…my own viewpoint on the show is it definitely does NOT stick to the source material. Hardly at all as a matter of fact. But at the same time, I have a hard time faulting them for trying to cram essentially 2,000 years into a time compression show.

this review is by far the best one i've watched, and i watched many. just one point of disagreement: had they chosen to introduce us to the background story from rhaenyra's point of view, we could be more inclined to be team black in the upcoming conflict. thank you for your elegant take on the show

I strongly disagree about not being able to finish Game of Thrones. It's a long story and just like that it won't have an abrupt ending but rather a fade into a state where viewers can well imagine the world going on without any conflicts arising that desperately need to be shown. The last season could've/should've been 3/4, maybe even more seasons and it would have been an easy way to improve Danys madness arc (For example don't have her destroy KL during the conquest but have her hold back, despite being close to defeat, then after winning rule it for some time and show us how she realizes the people of KL do not see her as the breaker of chains and good ruler but oppose her due to Cerseis propaganda and her being a Targaryen until Danys becomes more cruel and after being mobbed publicly and saved by her dragon decided not to just fly away but turn back and burn the people attacking her, also hitting casuals and destroying parts of the city. In the aftermath the council seems scared of Dany, cowardly to tell her about her wrongdoings and every attempt to indirectly say things should be handled differently is aggressively shut down by Dany, so Jon stabs her in their shared Bed in the evening. After that you see the dragons come to terms with Dany being dead, fly away and be free, a new (good) ruler being elected and the lords swearing fielty and it fades into being an ending done over several episodes where noone craves seeing more of. But not because it was as bad as the ending we got but because everything is resolved). But the Showrunners wanted to wrap it up quickly and thus it seems like it's an unfinishable product. No, it just seems like it could never be finished because we're used to 1) abrupt and spectacular endings and that won't work for the 3 (Night King, Danys conquest, Danys Madness) big arcs and 2) GoT "filler" content makes the fantasy show feel like a history event, which most other Fantasy shows and movies fail at, thus resenting to spectacle and action. A history event never ends aprubtly but keeps you longing (but knowing) what happens afterwards. That's probably why in hindsight you feel like GoT couldn't be finished. That being said, Martin likely won't finish it due to how long he takes, not because he can't think of a way to finish it. He can't think of a way to beautifully fill the much needed time until it is to be finished

I agree with the major criticism of the show, even after having seen the entire first season. It was rushed to the point of annoyance. I would’ve much rather watched a slower buildup to the actual civil war. I feel that there could’ve/should’ve been (possibly) another full season before arriving at The Dance of the Dragons.

You have such a good mind for understanding storytelling. I like this show a lot, but couldn’t put my finger on why I’m not as into it as GOT. You explained it perfectly…it feels rushed. It was entirely possible to make this a slow burn like GOT, but it’s rushing through to get to a point. Thanks for explaining what my brain couldn’t 😂

Yeah, I never realized Otto Hightower was Rhys Iffans until it was pointed out later in a video I was watching.

Completely agree that Song of Ice and fire will never be finsibed.

On the point of extemporaneous speech: It's a scene where both characters will have prepared exactly what to say before the meeting.

Actually no the episode two council dialogue isn't about replacing drunk legalos. Its about the death of the lird commander of the kings guard also a council member, he is a major character in the earlier history. Sir ryam redwyne lird commander of the kingsguard. He is considered the best knight who ever lived. Upto that point , and short list for all time , he was mentioned in game of thrones. ( show ) in the white book . I think he won more tournaments that anyone . Although it happens right after the tournament, not 6 mouths later . And criston cole , made a bigger splash, his victory i mean . His victory earned him his place. And as the princesses body guard.

I actually thought the scene at 46:30 was well done, even for a viewer unfamiliar with the names and terms. The viewer already knows that Corlys (though they might not have put a name to a face yet) wants to marry his daughter to Viserys. The "Sea Snake" is obviously referring to a person, even if they don't realize that he is talking about Corlys, and Driftmark is obviously a place. They then tie them neatly together with House Velaryon by having him say "you should marry Laena Velaryon", instead of "Lady Laena" or "Laena" just to remind you they are talking about the Velaryons during all this. It links "Driftmark" and the "Sea Snake" with House Velaryon even for casual viewers who didn't pick up that the Sea Snake and Corlys were one and the same. It also allows for a introduction of things over time (bits and pieces scattered for the audience to pick up) rather than committing the error of having characters talking about things they have no real reason to talk about but for the audience's sake.

Do you think GOT S01E01 also places chess pieces instead of moving them? We have the benefit of GOT later seasons to appreciate the introductions made at the beginning. I agree that we learn the world through novice heroes in GOT but there also characters who have old and complex relationships already. Your analysis is on the whole, one i agree with however i think the episodes are quite similar in aim and method? I haven't read the books. I've only recently crashed into your channel and i'm thoroughly enjoying your work.

Driftmark ? Well because the family is richer than the Lannisters at this time and jalf the ships of the country belong to driftmark. And the father commands the navy ( and owns half the navy himself) its the same logic for Robert marrying Cersei in game of thrones.

In regards to the conclusion of GOT, I've always said "it's didn't end how anyone wanted it to, it ended the way GOT should end" that is to say, we realistically have as much disappointment as we do rewards in life, and sometimes, the negatives vastly overshadow the shining moments that could have been

Not sure how I missed this video. I am a big fan of the book material (if less so of the author himself), so I feel like the barrier to entry for me in HoTD is somewhat lower than someone not a fan of the books. The Dance is an event in the books heavily scrutinized in-universe, so I already know the general story beats before they happen. I'm just looking forward to seeing those amazing beats enacted, even if I already know the outcome. I think this is going to be one of those shows where your mileage will vary wildly depending on how much you understand the in-world universe.

There were 3 good season's of GoT. The cracks starting showing during season 4. Season 5 and onwards was appalling.

I, for one, am looking forward to more House of the Dragon reviews by you, Mr. Platoon. As a lover of Martin's novels, I find it very refreshing to hear from someone who is not. Cheers!

I dont think having a lot of characters is an issue. I havent read the books, but am familiar with the lore and that is enough to follow everything, also it helps that every character is unique.

guess I missed why you are calling Daemon something else... I do appreciate your views on the comparison of the first shows of GOT and HOD and the idea of being told rather than being shown. I look forward to your further viewpoints. I am enjoying the show and haven't read the books yet.

I feel like the time skip and events that happen in the background that we're a supposed to see but don't are like little drops of mistakes that might become an major issues that will affect negatively how we relate to important events/characters

I definitely agree that the world that GRRM created is bleak and harsh. Personally, I find it an incredibly depressing world. But I do think that there can be a satisfying end, and a moral of the story. Namely, that an amoral world is not going to be the answer to the overarching threats and problems humanity is facing. In A Song of Ice And Fire, everyone loses - definitely "good" people, but we also seeing the "bad" cannibalizing each other. The greed for power and glory corrupts, which will lead to downfall and death (as we will also see in The House of The Dragon). But there might be a place for decency, kindness, and empathy to tread its path to victory.

@The Little Platoon I just found you and watched your first She Hulk review... Bro, your common sense, your logic, humour... I cannot stand without telling you how much you are good at what you're doing, and that you deserve more publicity. Can't wait to see your opinions on future movies and series, keep it up king! 👑

I've never been quite sold on the idea that Martin's stuff is amoral. What I think his main theme is, is _unintended consequences._ IOW, his books to me highlight the fact that good actions sometimes lead to bad consequences and bad actions sometimes lead to good consequences. Particularly in this story, it's Viserys' essential goodness and kind-heartedness that leads to a lot of trouble further down the line. I think his beef isn't with good and evil per se, he still holds to those concepts and supports the good, but what he's saying is that it's never as clean-cut as the fairytales, victory is often bittersweet, etc., etc.

Interesting point about book readers and non-book readers attitude to the tv series. (I was a book reader and enjoyed the show). I've been watching your streams with Critical Drinker and your comments and those from the other guys has helped me make up my mind to actually watch THIS series. I have been giving it a miss because of both the train wreck of season 8 of GoT and the prevailing culture of "The Message"... I was fearful of both of those tainting them. I shall be giving this a watch now.

I am cautiously optimistic. I like the history and lore explored here. I don't mind the dialogue heavy pace so far.

Matt Smith deserves better than "Drunk lego miniature Lord of the Rings model."

I'd say the biggest problem is how fast the show is moving. If it took more time to cover things it could be a lot better Though for shows that skip around like this, they do it pretty well.

I'm one of the few people who didn't hate Season 8. I did think it was rushed and poorly prepared for, but what it actually did was more or less what I expected from reading Martin's other books. To digress (although not really) the ending to Season 8 felt to have been inspired by the last chapter in Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. In it, everything that had gone before was reduced to banality - quite deliberately, to undercut any feeling the reader may have had that heroism was always going to triumph or even be remembered in anything but a crass and self-serving way. The end of Season 8, with its culminating Small Council gathering, did exactly what Heinlein's book had done. We got to see the fate of all the other characters - Arya, Jon, Sansa, etc. - and what we immediately saw was that nothing had changed; there was still a king beyond the wall, still a queen across the water, still a "king" in the north - it had all been for nothing, other than the MacGuffin of dealing with the White Walkers. For me, in concept, it was the perfect ending and exactly the one I wanted. If Jon Snow had fought the Night King I would have turned off the TV in disgust. If he had had a show down with Jaime Lannister it would have felt the same. The ending was Martin's ending. (And the idea that the show turned to shit when they ran out of original material is completely unsupported by the original material, which after Book 3 was garbage and a total trial to get through.) What the show needed was a better arc for Daenerys - who was always as mad as a box of frogs and should never have been allowed to become a female role model - and at least another season's worth of episodes to develop the themes of the ending. But it would always disappoint the Lord of the Rings crowd because it was never intended to have an ending they could like or even understand.

"Martin's world is a brutal and cynical one and morals are your enemy" *shows picture of the Red wedding and Robb holding his dead wife* I don't mean much offense, but this is just missing the mark so hard. The Red Wedding was a monstrous horror that forever birthed discontent with both Lannister rule and Bolton rule. What Walder Frey did- though stopping the Northern rebellion- was objectively wrong and Jaime and Tyrion see this. It's what births the Northern conspiracy and the feeling of resilience that (in the show at least) enables Jon to recruit an army just large enough to challenge the Bolton one. Furthermore, Robb *did* bring the Red Wedding onto himself. His love wasn't some noble and cherished thing. It was the wrong decision. Anyone who watched the show (let alone read the book) knows this. He promised and swore to marry Walder Frey's daughter and rejected that in favor of what? a 16 year olds fantasy? No. It was childish and wrong. And brought about his own demise. There was nothing moral in what Robb did. It was also objectively wrong, despite how right he wanted it to be. It ultimately cost him the war. Martin isn't a cynic, his world just has consequence. He doesn't write morally grey characters (Ramsay, Joffrey, etc) he writes characters whose heart is in conflict with itself. Because to him, that's the only thing worth writing about. Tywin is the most amoral character here, and he dies having lost most of his battles, his house in ruin, a prostitute in his bed, and died on the toilet, his body so foul his own grandchildren couldn't bear to be near it.

wish that there were a review of this caliber for the rest of the season

Everything in this IP previous to season 8 is robbed of any meaningful purpose. No matter how far it goes back, no matter the quality, it all strives to create the circumstances that result in the White Walkers defeated in 35 minutes by a little girl materializing out of thin air, House Targaryen extinct, the rightful King banished forever for saving the world twice, and Bran Stark on the Iron Throne, the plank of wood with most boring, contradictory, and least popular, character arcs of the entire IP. Do I really want to reinvest in facing that end from a further distance back? Some wounds can never heal but hope remains in the Jon Snow sequel.

I have to say, I will disagree with the opening statements and the idea that HotD opening isn't good. I haven't read anything about the pre-ASoIaF materials and went into HotD essentially fresh, yet it wasn't really difficult to follow in. Frankly, watching these new faces and people and getting to learn them was interesting and draw you in. As for the rushed plot lines or character moments, like you said we are let into the series as it unfolds and while having to play catch up could be bad, in this case I don't really think it's that hard or bad. Further, having read the original source after watching the series, lots of derivative things are, well, present there as well! Should the writers have gone their own way? I really don't see how the scenes they put in are bad, and while on the surface there are comparissons between the shows, there are also great many differences that help set up the different Era where targaryen rule is at its height. So in short, I'd say you are unjustly harsh on the series

Lost me at “I support the overturn of Row vs Wade”

I think that House of the Dragon was written primarily for book readers over those who haven't read FIre and Blood. Personally I prefer it, but I'm very stingy about adaptations and have read the book, so I'm incredibly biased, heh heh. The show is based off of an extremely sketchy accountiing of events as written by a maester in a history book, so there's a lot of time for the show to cover and a lot of details that are left ambiguous or outright contradicted by different sources within the text itsel. I don't think the show would work at all if the show runners tried to make it as non-book-reader friendly as possible.

Well, I do have a passing familiarity with GoT and source material for HotD but still quite honestly, Matt Smith's character was a real treat every time he was on screen. And for me, that was the 'hook' in the first episode. Much like my buddy, who watched whole of GoT.

5:45 I still think GoT would’ve had a great ending of the boss white walker would be bran, accidentally captured and converted by the children of the forest in the past. His face even looks like him. It’s a great start to come up with all kinds of theories and dilemmas for our heroes in the grand finale.

PS: As I note from your latest live stream with Critical Drinker you are now looking to YT to help with the bills then here I am, subscribed and with reminders on. More power to your elbow.

I was always advocate that Night King should've won. It would've been the most Game of Thrones ending.

I think the problems comes from its source material, fire and blood is written as an in universe history book with no POV chapters

With only a few characters that are actually interesting and compelling, and a paucity of crowded, lively scenes to help ground the scenes in the larger world, the show has set itself up to have at best an indifferent audience. Platoon makes several excellent points and notes where the show has excelled which he suggests are alone sufficient to make the show watchable, and I agree. But yes, will we ever become as invested as we were in GOT? That seems unlikely but at this point I strongly suspect that's not the intent of the showrunners, if for no reason other than that GOT was lightning in a bottle. But it does appear clear that they are making something both note and watch worthy. Frankly the 1st two episodes were a pleasant surprise and, again to my surprise, I look forward to the rest of the season. Especially so if the show continues to develop and settle into its own niche.

TBF, I don't usually focus on names upon first watch, especially with animes where the names are hard to learn anyways, but if a show is great I will eventually learn them.

The only thing i’m not looking forward to is the recasting of Princess Rhaenyra, I really like Milly Alcock. She is charming, interesting and a fantastic actress.

Still not sold on it and I'll explain why there's only main characters the early seasons of games of thrones had people outside the main plot the hookers or when the main characters met someone on the Kings Road (the hound and arya eating with that man and his daughter for example) it made the world feel alive, just having the main characters makes the world feel empty and lifeless

I don't agree that the Song of Ice and Fire series couldn't have a fantastic conclusion. I think the astoundingly shit ending from HBO gives you that impression. I think Martin's story is not about "goodness" being a hindrance like you said. I think Martin just made making the "right" choice genuinely difficult for his characters like it is in real life. I think Martin's story could be concluded by Jon saving the kingdom because Jon is only alive because of the honorable actions of Ned Stark. Even though Ned's honor got him killed it's also the thing that, in the long run, could end up saving everyone. I think a satisfying conclusion to the song of ice and fire would be everybody coming together to defeat the enemy of death but afterwards (when everything COULD be set right) they ultimately don't learn their lesson and the fighting starts again. It could be an ending that hints at humans ABILITY to band together and achieve great things but also reflect our ultimately corrupted nature and how we'll never truly "break the wheel". I think that's an honest and compelling vision for the overall story. It's different than Tolkien's style but deliberately so. Tokiens world seems to reflect the internal world of the soul more than the world we live in. Which is a compelling and beautiful vision, no doubt. But Martin's story is about reflecting the world we LIVE in. Idk just my opinion. Loved the video regardless! You make some really fantastic content and I'll definitely be sticking around to see more of it! Keep up the great work 👍

Really enjoyed you on Drinkers After Hour. Hope to see you back on again

Drinker got me here but I’m staying because of your excellent videos. I really enjoy your scripts and editing *Thank you Platoon* ……subscribed 🤘

Well roe vs wade was limited to first trimester ( although they broke that at will ) what bothers me is the manner of it , in a real world historic setting she would be informed , unless she was on unconscious, and the woman was typically happy to save the child, and she would be sedated if possible, and the medical knowledge to do a c section exited, the cases where that wasn't possible ( like this ) usually took mother and child , in our world i believe medicine didn't figure it out till 1901 .but they did a poor job of explaining it , nothing will have killed both , he chose the child , but thats perfectly normal. Its the best of bad opinions, in a disaster people usually prefer to save child to adults. ( woman and child first, titanic ect ) i believe in the books , it just said she died in child bed , no detail , in fairness this story takes decades to play out in the books . Major characters have yet to be born yet .

But good does win over evil sometimes in real life, but not without a great struggle and in some cases the people on the side of good themselves getting tarnished and committing their share of atrocities (despite their good intentions), WW2 is such a case, so if Martin was looking for a way finish Game of Thrones he should look for inspiration there. It will be something like "At the very end of GoT some of the good guys will die some of them will triumph, but at a great cost to them and to the realm, they will also commit atrocities in their effort to take out their enemies, and while some of the bad guys will get defeated, some of them will manage to sneak into the shadows and slither their way to a far away place to lick their wounds and maybe become a threat again in the future or be forgotten by time, highlighting the cyclical nature of the eternal battle between good and evil". As a matter of fact not only have a lot of fans imagined endings for GoT, but most of them are a whole lot better than whatever crap we got in S8.

I tried watching this first episode, but after 10 mins, I had no idea who anybody was or what they were talking about. Great sets though. And the dark-haired woman is a babe. :)

Mmmm I didn’t agree with this completely but still Interesting to hear your opinion.