This post contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season three, episode seven. If you want to avoid them for now you can instead check out our coverage of episode six.
I think House of the Dragon has abandoned its source material and ruined incredible moments by making them significantly worse. But, honesty, those changes are not my primary problem with the show. Some of my favorite adaptations are very different takes on stories I have loved my entire life. No, my main problem with House of the Dragon is that it’s a bad television show entirely on its own merits.
As someone who loves Westeros what’s especially frustrating is that it’s bad for all many of the same reasons Game of Thrones‘ last two seasons were total disasters. When characters aren’t running in place in plots that go nowhere, they behave like idiots in service to nonsense plots designed to generate grand spectacles and “shocking” moments devoid of logic and reason.
It’s all style, negative substance. And that was once again on full display in season three’s impossibly silly seventh episode. It was embarrassing installment whose failures are best exemplified by a mind-numbing, brain-breaking, totally absurd dragon fight.
It’s only fair I start this screed by giving the show credit for two things I think made sense from its otherwise impossibly idiotic dragon showdown. The first is that it makes complete sense Rhaenyra would finally get on her own dragon and fly off to deal with an issue. It involved her formerly disloyal husband possibly conspiring with her son’s killer. If anything was going to finally get Rhaenyra to act like a dragonrider, that was it. It also made sense the Queen left Baela and Moondancer behind to look after King’s Landing, especially when no one knows where Vhagar is.
So far, so good. And thus ends our use of the word “good.” Everything that happened after Rhaenyra and Addam (too easily) found Daemon and Rhaena was ridiculous. This sequence was the dragon equivalent of Ramsey Bolton’s hounds only emerging at the exact moment Sansa Stark was done taunting him. (Those starving dogs sure did have dramatic flair!) Only, somehow, House of the Dragon‘s scene was even dumber.
Sheepstealer is a wild, nearly uncontrollable dragon. It has only ever bonded with one living thing in the entire world. It had encountered Daemon and Caraxes already, so it’s not unreasonable it stayed calm when they met again. But you can’t defend that Sheepstealer didn’t even move, let alone protect Rhaena, when she ran off in fear. It didn’t even instinctively fly after her. Was Sheepstealer just confused at first? Maybe. And maaaaybe all that time spent alone with Rhaena in a cave, even without any actual training, made him slightly more domesticated. But we can’t give the dragon/the writers that benefit of the doubt because of what immediately happened. The ornery, antisocial, untrained dragon just sat there patiently even when Addam grabbed Rhaena against her will and carried her back.
I know it seems like I am complaining about the actions of a fictional creature, but what I am really complaining about is that this show is more concerned with “big moments” than it is internal logic. And I know because of everything that happened after Sheepstealer inexplicably sat idly by while the only living thing it cares about was taken prisoner.
Once the show remembered a bunch of angry dragons should be, you know, angry, the fire started. Syrax attacked Sheepstealer. Then Seasmoke jumped in. Those two experienced, fully-trained dragons should have easily killed the clearly overmatched Sheepstealer. They had him pinned down by the neck! But then Daemon ordered Addam to follow the Queen to safety while he and Caraxes finished the job. It should have been very easy for Daemon to do that. Caraxes has as much battle experience as any dragon on the planet and Sheepstealer was already half-dead already.
So of course Daemon easily got tossed off Caraxes back so the weakened Sheepstealer could get away.
Now, obviously Daemon got right back on his healthy dragon and give chase to the limping, greatly wounded Sheepstealer, right? He didn’t let the tiniest setback in history stop him from finishing the job? There is no reason for him to give up.
……….You fool. You complete dolt. Why would he do something so logical? Why would he do the most obvious thing in the world? How can you even suggest such internal logic when, by letting Sheepstealer escape, the dragon can now make a dramatic return creating yet another big moment!
Did you not see the totally-not-dead Sunfyre’s glorious deus ex machina-like return at the exact moment the plot needed him to show up? (In an entirely original scene the show created from whole cloth.) Wasn’t that super cool and not super dumb? Isn’t that what makes Westeros awesome? Not smart writing that combines thoughtfully developed characterization, smart plotting, rich ideas, and wildly entertaining action and humor, but spectacle! The kind you can easily create without thought or concern or care or logic or anything that remotely makes sense. That’s the kind of writing that made the end of Game of Thrones so beloved!
My apologies. I know, that’s a whole lot of snark. I had to get that out of my system. It was vital because when Sheepstealer makes his inevitable, cockamamie surprise return, I won’t have any of old frustration pent up. I’ll need room for the new frustration.
I promise I get why “big dragon fight” is a cool idea and on its own can be enjoyable even if its dumb. I’m not inherently against shows or movies doing things simply because they’re fun and entertaining even if they’re dumb. I love the Fast & Furious franchise. But that’s not what I want or expect from this franchise and I’m beyond tired that’s what it keeps giving me.
I don’t know how everyone who also loved Game of Thrones isn’t tired at this point. House of the Dragon—a story about a bunch of dragonriders in a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons because it involved so many actual dragons fighting—did the seemingly impossible. It found a way to make a big dragon fight unwatchable and stupid. That sums up what this series has become since season one. Because the problem with this show is not that it’s a bad adaptation, it’s just bad.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Big Dumb Dragon Fight Highlights the Show’s Failure appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com
You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .
Why USAGoldMines ?
USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.