House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 1
Writer: Ryan Condal
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Runtime: 1 hr, 6 min.
Content Warnings: TV-MA: Adult Content, Adult Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content
Video Preview: “Fire Will Reign”
Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, this epic series tells the story of House Targaryen…
Welcome back to the marvelous, madcap fiery world of Westeros! Tonight we set forth on a new journey. Join us on the Wall for a new whirlwind of Targaryens, love, hate, power plays, and of course, dragons!
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Welcome back to the Wall.
And now our watch begins.
Hey gang! I’ve missed you all! (Well, most of you. Let’s hope we can stick to spirited discussion of content this time and avoid the ad hominem stuff.)
I hope everyone had been living their best life since last we convened!
The antici… pation!!
Let’s do it again, shall we?? Welcome back Kings and Queens and village idiots.
Welp, we’re finally here. Coming into it tonight with no expectations, hope to be surprised.
Good to be back on this website and in the world of Westeros!
We’re back! I can’t believe it. Looking forward to reading the conversation tomorrow, as I’ll be asleep while the show airs 🙂
Hodor! Or, um…..Dragons!!! Glad to be back, and can’t wait to watch 🙂
I’m way more excited than I expected to be. Glad to be embarking on this journey with everyone!
Holy cow! LDB is back! Now I know we’re back on session.
Can’t watch till tomorrow but I’m very hyped for it!
I won’t be watching the show when it airs either. I’ll also read the conversation tomorrow to find out what you, the rest of the Watchers on the Wall Dream Team™️, and my fellow commenters thought about the episode.
Squeeeee! Can’t wait…Time to grab a couple of hours shut eye before 2 am. I queued for Potter books at midnight too 😅
I’m so excited!
Back in the Game!!!
I have a friend coming over to watch it some time on Monday evening, so I shall wait and watch it unsullied with him.
I did think of staying up till 2.00 in order to see it – but that’s beyond me. So recording. And it’s shown here tomorrow evening also.
Seeing familiar handles here is making me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Who besides me is Unsullied, not having gotten around to reading Fire and Blood? I fear I’m going to have trouble telling my platinum-bewigged Targ-Aryans apart.
Being up to 3AM to watch it here in Sweden. I worked the weekend so I’m free tomorrow. Perfect timing!
*farts*
hour and a half left.
Didn’t know what kind of dinner would be a good theme for tonight. I just thought of fire, so I went with grilled smoked chicken wings
This is surreal, cant believe i am here with you all once again awaiting a new episode of Game of Thrones. good times indeed.
Just to be on the safe side, why not go with two chickens?
https://youtu.be/AQMxnYqLVRk
🐓🐓
Good wishes to everyone with the fortitude to watch HOD. Enjoy!
1. I will not be watching with you. I never loved the dragons in the story and in GOT. They did not appeal to me. However, I enjoyed the wider story and understood the dragons as weapons of mass destruction and therefore sources of power.
2. I see that in New York Times GRRM promises a different end to his GOT story. Who knows if he will finish? However, he really has no choice but to write a different ending that makes sense. At a minimum, Bran’s character must be well-developed if he is to become king.
3. And time has not made the end of GOT look better – it looks worse. To my amusement, I noticed over the years that “not to Games of Throne it” is now short-hand for not completely wrecking your work product with a rubbish ending.
Is this real life?!?!
And now the watch begins!
Mango,
If Martin has to rewrite the story to change the ending, then the odds of him finishing will decrease even further. It’s a moot point anyway. Martin’s story has already derailed and I don’t see how he’ll ever recover. Luckily, D&D rose to the occasion and gave us the ending the story deserves.
Young Dragon,
They rose to no occasion. They rushed when they didn’t have to so they could move to something they were then ironically fired from for f’ing up the ending of Game of Thrones so badly.
Marc,
Incorrect. D&D gave an interview back in 2014 stating GOT was a 70 episode series. Also, it was their choice to leave Star Wars so they could work for Netflix instead. D&D brought the series to an amazing conclusion and did the story justice.
Very good but no opening Theme music? and not much music during the episode… Very good EPIC final scene… just perfect!!! I am definitely looking forward to watching the next episode and the whole season!!! I also like all the Game of Thrones Easter eggs.
I thought it was like Game of Thrones without the humor or without any particularly compelling characters.
and whatever song they played (it sounds like “The Children” theme) during the closing credits was icing on the cake… 10/10
Very good start! It’s an 8/10 for me.
One thing I really enjoyed about the original Game of Thrones was the humor. I thought that was really lacking in the first episode of HotD. It was a little too serious.
I also caught myself wanting the show to switch over to the North to see what’s up North of the Wall, Castle Black, Winterfell, etc…
Overall, I thought it was good enough that I’ll keep watching.
Let’s not get into the same old arguments about the GOT ending and let’s focus on the new show please!?!
On the whole it was great, visually stunning and the production values are off the scale! On balance though, the script was just awful, and as as I suspected, Matt’s Smith’s acting was dreadful. And although episode 1 is setting the scene and was a fairly slow burn, it had some really powerful moments… and a really neat Easter egg at the end. Enjoy!
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Glad to be back in Westeros.
Haven’t read the Targaryn book, but hopefully that Damon dude gets killed pretty quickly. Found his character to be super annoying. Other than that I found it to be pretty entertaining and will definitely be watching to see where it goes.
Really liked it, loved it even!
I thought the episode was good not great. It felt a little rushed, but seeing the potential for some good characters, family dynamics and conflict though. Was stronger in the second half than the first.
The thing that bothered me the most was how Miguel Sapochnik completely overhauled the look and direction of the show. I thought it looked like a second rate paid cable show with the cheap and overused CGI, gloomy lenses, weird shots and poor editing choices. Continues to prove that he has no idea how to light a dark scene. The opening shot of the clouds made it so obvious what was coming next. Did a very poor job with the emotional moments, like when the queen dies in child birth and when the king reveals to the daughter that he wants to appoint her the successor. They felt glossed over the way they were presented. To be clear, my only real beef with Sapochnik in the original series was how fans overrated him (I thought he did a nice job but wasn’t above the others) and how he influenced Ramin’s Light of the Seven musical piece. If you saw Many Saints of Newark, you can’t tell me that Alan Taylor wouldn’t have been a better choice to direct the show.
Mr Derp,
I’ll take no humor as it got lame in the final years with a million of the same cock jokes.
Brandon,
Haven’t read them either, but what I think (hope) is going to happen, is that Daemon is going to be the one we end up rooting for, and Otto the one against. Or at least, we’ll like him more than we think, and Otto less.
That was very good IMO. Solid 9 out of 10 and better than GOT’s first episode. I think the first season or two of this will be awesome but worry about the end game based on how the source material goes.
Best bits were the chemistry of the two young lead actresses along with the barely disguised bile between the hand and baby brother. The scenes with the king and his wife not easy to watch but very well done. King and brother very well done as well.
I loved it. Really.
I too hope the series eventually finds some humour, but it would not have improved this episode which was really very full of heavy topics covered efficiently: It is not as if they lingered on a heavy moment and just forgot the funny – events were just moving too fast and I am not interested in watching Rhaenyra, Corlys, Otto, Viserys, Alicent, Daemon or Mysario used as comic relief. As long as the story needs to charge forward through events with time jumps, secondary funny characters will have trouble getting screen time.
Fingers crossed they have more time for funny once the war starts. Ha!
Odd that you’re limiting the choices between no humor and bad humor. I’ll take good humor, thanks.
Like I said, I didn’t dislike the first episode or anything. No need to get so defensive. I just thought it could do with some humor. Good humor, for those that require clarification.
I am only mildly familiar with Fire & Blood as I read it once, adored it, then it went in one ear and mostly out the other. So, experiencing this with *mostly* fresh eyes, I adore it, and thought that pilot was just outstanding. An excellent beginning.
One other thing I noticed about Sapochnik’s direction is that Ramin’s score had no resonance. Sapochnik has no clue how to ring emotion out of a scene. His worst impulses were kept in check in the original series because Dave, Dan and the producers had full power in the editing room and they actually have good taste. Now, I assume, as a co-showrunner, Sapochnik is in full control of the visual elements and so far the series is looking like Ed Wood came back from the dead.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
Hi LDB How´s it going? It been a long time since I´ve posted on this group. Guess we´ll just have to see how this series pans out. Looks like GoT in that many scenes are very dark and its difficult to see the action going on! Hope that´s not going to continue throughout the series!
Hello, everyone.
Ten Bears,
I never left 🙂
Black Raven,
Heya, welcome back. I don’t ever recall it being a problem aside from in Miguel’s episodes, could be wrong. There’s actually been a lot of stuff in the dark that’s been awesome, I remember the fight in the cave between The Hound and Thoros as one in particular (very underrated fight scene shot by Alex Graves).
Matt Smith looks like a demented elf, and I can’t get over it. I liked him as the Eleventh Doctor, but I really am worried I’m going to hate every scene he’s in. I suppose that’s the point, but oof.
Mr Derp,
Just because it was lacking in episode 1 doesn’t mean there won’t be any. Doesn’t seem fair to compare 1 episode to an entire series.
Personally I found that Daemon choosing to duel the Hightower knight was a bit of a cheeky move and humorous moment given the previous scene when Otto was chastising him for his actions with the gold cloaks. And then when Daemon followed that up by asking Alicent for her favor and the subsequent shot of Alicent sheepishly looking at her father. Maybe not everyone’s idea of humor but I found it funny in a cheeky way.
Yes please!! Couldn’t have said it better myself. People seriously need to get over themselves and move on.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
I don’t think that’s too much of a mystery to be honest. We literally saw Otto pimp out his daughter to Viserys hardly a day after his wife and son died. What Daemon said about Otto before Viserys sent him away was spot on from what we saw. Already scheming and plotting for personal gain when the king he is supposed to serve is at his lowest.
It’s true, there were moments. Rhaenyra’s cake was funny too, if brief. I get the sense in general that the humour will have an edge to it in this series in the sense that it will be mockery that makes us laugh but that also builds up the war between characters. With less or no characters who are consistently funny because they have too much dramatic tension to build with each of them.
A bad, bad episode. What the hell was that? No emotions, the babe dying should bring emotions. Now, nothing.
I liked the episode, I’d give it a 7. Good enough to keep watching, but it’s not going to be my favourite show anymore. I read about the Dance of dragons long time ago, but I never reread it. Problem is the story is about the Targaryens and most Targaryens are not very likeable people. In Game of Thrones there were a lot of likeable people I was rooting for and even the not likeable ones (like Cersei) were great. I don’t have that feeling now, but maybe it will change in the next episodes.
One problem I had with the directing was that sometimes I didn’t know who was speaking because the camera often dit not film people who was speaking or only after their first sentence(s). In GOT I know everyone’s voices, but here that’s not the case yet. And I had problems to know who was who in the Small Council.
There were also a lot of good things. I liked the acting, loved to see Kingslanding again. Since it was a very long time since I read the books, I don’t remember very well how it ends. And this first episode did make me want to see it.
David Q,
True but Daemon’s motives are a little more dubious, or if he even has any and is just a bit of a hot head. He could end up being the new Jaime.
abby,
That’s a good point, did they even show or allude to the baby dying in scene? Did I miss that? The only time I learned of it is when she mentions it to her father at the funeral.
I liked it overall but I must admit the baby dying was handled oddly. Should have been more clear and heartbreaking after the king essentially chose to kill his wife in the name of a male heir/prophecy fulfilment.
Spot on, the Targs generally were not that likeable – in my view at least. I couldn’t warm to Rhaenyra, Dameon I thought had gravitas and charisma. I suspect I’m going to be ‘Team Green’ in this show.
I wasn’t comparing the first episode of HotD with the ENTIRETY of GoT. I’m simply comparing each pilot episode with each other. I thought the pilot episode of GoT had a lot more charm and personality than HotD.
These are simply my initial impressions. I obviously recognize it’s the first episode and there’s a long way to go, so my opinion can certainly change as the series moves along.
The reveal of the baby not making it was the shot of the second shrouded corpse on the pyre – a tiny one. I found that quite a heartbreaking way of getting the information, myself.
Hello everyone, I’m back! Once more unto the breach, my friends…
I really liked the opening episode (8/10). I’m particularly intrigued by Otto Hightower and Viserys I. As you can tell, I like my characters flawed.
A solud opening. Reminder to never eat dinner watching this series. 😄
I’m still not sure how I feel about GRRM’s retcon that Aegon saw the WW’s coming in a dragon dream. It’s ok, but never felt it added anything to the greater narrative. Now it’s a secret passed only to the heir. In times when anything could wipe out a line and end the info chain? If he conquers six kingdoms so the realm of humans could stand together, seems that some knowledge to share with more than one person.
NinaD,
I don’t think it’s a retcon, I think it is something GRRM planned to reveal in future books. In various interviews over the years, he has talked about Aegon having dreams and having other reasons for coming to Westeros.
Retcon or no, it’s a very timely theme – at least here is the US, where it’s customary for certain extremely sensitive nuggets of information regarding national security matters (such as nuclear launch codes) to be conveyed from an outgoing president to an incoming one, but otherwise closely held. Now we have an unprecedented situation where such information has not only been conveyed outside the White House, but likely sold or traded to foreign interests. So, the idea of a crucial secret passed down through a dynasty takes on new relevance and resonance.
Firannion,
The baby also seems to gasp for breath in the maesters arms at the end of the birthing scene.
ditto! turn the page and move on pls. Hi all, good to see you all back. Wasn’t a bad episode, introduced us to the characters and potenial issues coming up. Looking forward to what happens next
Aww, it’s so wonderful seeing so many familiar names here again! A special hi! to Adrianacandle and Pidgeon!
I’ll be coming to this all a few days late because I’ll save 8.99€ if I start my HBO Max subscription on 25.8.22 as episode 10 will be released on 24.10.22 = will need only two months’ subscrption instead of three.
I haven’t read the recaps or comments, just quickly scrolled through to see who’s here. Great to see so many old friends with whom I’ve argy-bargied, laughed, cried (in frustration, sometimes), argy-bargied some more, and most of all, loved our shared GoT experience.
I hope this one will be as wonderful.
Argy-bargy! Argy-bargy!
*waves enthusiastically*
😊
talvikorppi,
Hi talvikorppi! 🙂 🙂 🙂 (And hi to you too, Pigeon and everyone!)
Adrianacandle,
I didn’t expect this show to spoil the books like GOT did. I wonder why Martin didn’t wait to reveal this plot detail in Winds or Dream.
Mr Derp,
I agree, while I respect HoTD for not forcing the issue with some big shocking death, I felt like it was in a rush and didn’t develop the characters as much as it could’ve so I didn’t really feel like I knew any of them that well by the time it was over. It also had a lot of edge lord violence and generic gore (the tournament, chopping up peasants and c-section) just for the sake of it.
Adrianacandle,
You would be right about that.
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“He [George R.R. Martin] told us very early on in the room—just as he casually mentions the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer. He saw a vision of the White Walkers coming across the wall and sweeping over the land with cold and darkness. And but it never made the history book because [Aegon] never told anyone, or at least the people they told didn’t tell the history to the history writers. So it’s in George’s head.'”
“It’s nice of the author to just casually let it slip this was a legit thing that merely just existed in his head as how things went down in the Dragon House, as the Targaryen secret passed from leader to leader. ‘And at some point, it will come out, as Martin told us,’ Condal continued. ‘So, you know, with his permission, of course, we infused that into the story because it was such a great way to create resonance with the original show. One of the things we struggled with is that there are 170 years of gap between our show and the birth of Daenerys Targaryen as you’re told in the opening titles.’ He said, ‘How do you create that resonance? You don’t have any characters that survive but these ideas and these concepts of this existential threat to Westeros that we know as fans and watchers of the original show are coming.'”
Source: https://gizmodo.com/game-of-thrones-house-of-the-dragon-hbo-max-1849441608
Young Dragon,
I think deep down he (GRRM) knows those books will never be released.
Begone ye with the author-bashing! I am SO not here for that.
Firannion,
Not bashing just stating an opinion of how the last 11 years has gone with him releasing his last two books. Go onto westeros.org if you want to approve of only bashing the original producers and the fans of game of thrones.
stew,
I’m still annoyed that GRRM couldnt distance himself from Elio and Linda. I’m someone who loves all things thrones. I own and read all the books and graphic novels. But i can get over how he still associates with people like them.
stew,
I don’t hang out on Westeros.org or Reddit. But it seems to me that all the entitled whiners about how long it’s taking George to finish Winds have exceedingly short memories about how negatively both Feast and Dance were received by the reading public. Clearly he has ample reason to dread releasing another volume that isn’t as close to perfect as he can get it, just because he’s being mercilessly nagged by readers (or his publishers). I think we should be appreciative of how meticulous he’s being about his next volume. I’m looking forward to it. “It’ll never happen” talk merely bums everyone out.
Firannion,
Except he took more time on Feast and Dance than the other books and, as you said, they weren’t as well received as the first three. Spending more time on a book doesn’t guarantee quality. I don’t think that’s the reason he’s taking so long though. I think he’s struggling to move the story forward after writing himself into a corner.
Makes sense. I can’t think of any other reason Martin would allow House of the Dragon spoil a plot point he’s about to reveal in his books.
Young Dragon,
I’m not sure. It may have some sort of resonance to this particular story or characters later on but this is just my uninformed speculation. However, I personally don’t think it’s because GRRM “knows” he won’t finish. If it came to that, I expect he’d be releasing entire outlines of his plans rather than a few plot points but, of course, YMMV. I am one reader who does really like AFFC and ADWD both, particularly ADWD.
Azor Asshai,
Thanks for the excerpts! 🙂
Why does Daemon T. not have his own dragon? He’s a Targarian and should have had a dragon egg in his cradle. No?
DENNIS SIMON,
He does have his own dragon — Caraxes. He wanted the egg for his child with Mysaria, who was pregnant.