House of the Dragon 1.5-1.6: Brutal

Amanda Whiting had a provocative essay in The Independent yesterday -- "The battle for the Iron Throne is pointless when everyone in House of the Dragon is this evil".  I don't know if I'd agree that everyone is evil.  I think King Viserys is a little better than that, though in episode 1.6 it's clear that Ser Criston and Queen Alicent are headed to the bad side.  But I will say that the violence and gore and sheer number of deaths are beginning to wear on me.

At the end of episode 1.5, one of the producers remarks that you have to have murder at a wedding, because that's Game of Thrones tradition.  Part of the charm of House of the Dragon is indeed its many anticipations of Game of Thrones, but when it comes to the unbridled brutality, maybe some divergence would be nice.

We also probably don't need to see the harrowing fatality of child birth in every generation, though the suicide by dragon of Daemon's wife in 1.6 was innovative.  I have no idea, of course, what lies ahead in the remaining episodes of this season, but I can only hope that this dearth of happiness is remedied, at least a little.

I suppose at least part of my reaction is a reflection of the horror of our world off-screen, in our reality.  The rise of fascism in the U.S. and around the world, the pandemic, Putin threatening to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, all have filled up my tolerance for depravity.   I'm not saying I'm suddenly longing to see sitcoms on the screen -- though I wouldn't mind some new episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm right now -- but I am saying that the sheer ugliness of human nature is not something I'm especially in the mood to see more of, even if it's dressed in a riveting historical fantasy narrative, brilliantly acted and powerfully produced.

See also House of the Dragon 1.1-1.3: Drawing Me In ... House the Dragon 1.4: Lust and Tea

House of the Dragon 1.4: Lust and Tea

Push really comes to shove in the lustful, pivotal episode 1.4 of House of the Dragon on HBO Max tonight, in which ...

[of course, spoilers ahead]

Daemon takes Rhaenyra to a brothel, makes like he's going to ravish her, can't do it, but leaves her in the mood, so she seduces Ser Criston back in her room.  And then the strategic chess game starts.  The Hand tells the King that one of the Hand's informants saw Rhaenyra and Daemon going at it.  Rhaenyra denies it.  The King doesn't believe her (in the very last scene, the Grand Maester brings her a tea that takes care of "any unwanted consequences" of the tempestuous evening), but the King uses the occasion to order her to marry Ser Laenor.  The King also fires the Hand for spying on his daughter.

So where does that leave us?  First, we don't see Rhaenyra drink the tea.  The episode ends with her looking at it.  If she concludes before she takes the tea that she might want those consequences, well, that would move the narrative in a whole different direction.  If she marries Laenor and gives birth to Criston's child ... I can't recall whether Game of Thrones "science" has anything akin to DNA testing, but we certainly haven't seen any evidence of it in House of the Dragon.

And who will be the new Hand?  Daemon's been banished again, and I assume Ser Criston does not have a high enough rank.  How about Ser Harrold?  That would be fine with me.

As I mentioned in my review of the first three episodes last week, the King is getting more impressive in every episode.  His actions tonight were both shrewd and powerful -- using his anger at Rhaenyra to pressure her to get her betrothed, which is just what he wants.  He didn't look too good in the coming attractions.  But those could be deceiving, and I hope we get to see him in all the episodes this season.

See also House of the Dragon 1.1-1.3: Drawing Me In

House of the Dragon 1.1-1.3: Drawing Me In

It's been almost a month since I posted any reviews here -- I've been busy expanding my alternate history story, It's Real Life, in a novel, and helping put together a radioplay of the story -- and I figured House of the Dragon would be a good series to resume my reviewing.  I saw the first three episodes, and I really enjoyed them.  Indeed, I liked them more than some of Game of Thrones.  Here are some non-spoiler reasons:

1.  The dragons are handled very well.  Their scorching fire is very effective and great to have on your side, but the dragon and especially its rider are not invincible.  They can even be hit by well-aimed arrows.  We saw some of this in Game of Thrones, but that action was in momentous battles, and in House of the Dragon it's just a fact of war.

2. I like the way the story just in the first few episodes jumps ahead a few years.  This seems like an excellent way to tell such a big story.

3. There a far fewer pieces and physical places in House of the Dragon so far than in Game of Thrones, and I like that, too.  There were times when GoT had so many moving pieces, the narrative was hard to follow.

4. House of the Dragon at times almost has a Walt Disney Cinderella-like quality -- look at that coach that carries the King in episode 1.3 -- and I sorta like that, too.

Now for some spoilers ...

5. Matt Smith's Daemon is a great character.  He's defeated in that joust in the first episode, but he comes back like gangbusters in the third episode.  True, he wouldn't have made it on his own, but he single-handedly wiped out enough of the bad guys to make it possible for the cavalry to come in and save the day.

6.  Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Alicent (Emily Carey)'s  stories are both a little obvious and predictable at this point, but they're well played and interesting enough to keep me watching.

7. Same for King Viserys (Paddy Considine), whom I didn't much like in the first episode, but he's growing on me, and could have the makings of a really pivotal, unpredictable character, after all.

So count me in as a fan, and I'll keep watching and reviewing.