House Of The Dragon Season 1 Breakdown
WARNING! THIS BREAKDOWN CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SEASON 1. ONLY READ IF YOU’VE SEEN THE SHOW OR YOU’RE OK WITH SPOILERS.
This breakdown is going to be written by Clara and Amy.
House Of The Dragon’s first season has finally reached it’s conclusion and what a show it was! Filled with all the murder, plotting, scheming and tragedy you’d expect from a show set in Westeros.
So, we’re back in Westeros but it feels like a different kind of Westeros than we’re used to. With this show being set during the “Golden Age” of Westerosi history what differences did you notice and what did you like / dislike about the way Westeros as a whole was depicted during HotD?
Clara – The world in HotD as opposed to GoT felt as huge as it should. Places that we only know as ruins were in their full glory here and it really felt like Westeros was alive and thriving. All the more reason to lament what’s about to happen in a way.
Amy – Seeing Westeros in most of its glory that we only heard about in GoT, it’s amazing. Seeing it very much alive and thriving. But also seeing how the dragons are used in this “Golden Age” and the number of dragons there are, that’s what drew my breath away. It’s really cool seeing the shot of the dragon pit during HotD, then going to GoT and seeing the ruins of the pit.
HotD had a few callbacks to Game Of Thrones, what was your favourite call back or would you have preferred the show to not have had any at all?
Clara – I liked the story of the Long Winter and Aegon’s dream of the Night King. Even if the battle against the Night King only lasts one episode and he isn’t killed by a Targaryen like Viserys said he must be. The writing on the dagger that can only be seen when it’s put a flame was cool too, thankfully they kept the major call backs few and far between so it kept it’s originality.
Amy – I seriously got chills when the Long Winter was brought up, even now remembering it. I’m very curious how many times the dagger changes hands before the Long Night. Also the line, “There has never lived a Stark who forgot an oath. And with House Stark, the North will follow” this brings us back to the beginning of GoT.
Considering this show is all about a civil war and how it begins and ends. How do you feel it handled the balancing of the two different sides?
Clara – I think they handled it well enough especially in the earlier episodes. In the last two it’s definitely very pro-Black anti-Green but maybe that’s just my reading of it. Aemond accidentally killing Luke instead of being a comic book villain was a great change and I feel like he’ll be instrumental in keeping the Green side balanced.
Amy – I think they’ve done a decent job of balancing the two sides. The division was set very clear since the earlier episodes, especially when Otto was stripped of being the hand and when Alicent wore green to Rhaenyra’s wedding feast. With Luke’s death now, the lines are now fully clear and nothing is going to hold the blacks back from the greens.
A good majority of the show is different from the book but not radically, the radical changes seem to have caught the attention of fans but none more so than Alicent’s misunderstanding of Viserys’ intentions on his death bed. How do you feel about it? Should Alicent have been kept as the schemer that she was depicted as? Or is the change to her character and personality not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things?
Clara – I can see why they changed it. Again trying to show both sides of the coin but this was a change I felt was unnecessary. In the books the balance is achieved because pretty much everyone is a villain and has very few redeeming qualities. I feel the writers kinda made Alicent (and Rhaenyra too) just a little bit too perfect. It definitely changes things, if they’d kept them both as they were with just small changes then I could at least respect the hustle. A bit like Cersei, she’s a villain but she’s balanced so you can kinda see where she’s coming from. The women in HotD, Alicent in particular, felt very 2D.
Amy – I kind of like Alicent as a schemer. When it’s done correctly, you can be a villain without overly looking like a villain. Almost like how Lord Baelish. If she pulls the right moves she could honestly be worse than Cersei. I really can’t see any reasoning why Alicent is so angry and the plot of her schemes. Because at least with Cersei we know why she was like that. We really do need more depth and it further explained why she is so bitter and hostile with Rhaenyra.
What was the moment that had the most personal impact on you from the entire season?
Clara – Viserys losing Aemma in the first episode. You just know he’s never going to get over that or forget it and he made the choice. She was terrified and he had to look into her eyes and tell her she’d be OK knowing he’d sealed her fate. Just absolutely heartbreaking.
Amy – The finale shot of the season. Rhaenyra was just told about Luke; in a matter of days she has lost her father, her throne, her infant child, and now her second oldest son. The look in her eyes tells you a story, but also tells you how much pain she’s in.
We all know a lot of stuff was left on the cutting room floor. Any particular moment from any episode that you thought really shouldn’t have been there and could’ve been left out?
Clara – Rhaenys crashing the coronation in episode 9. It was comical how bad that was. They wanted to give her a big “girl boss” moment but she was already a well loved character as it was, so unnecessary.
Amy – Did we really need the feet scene? I don’t think we needed that. Like everything else, they could have alluded this information.
Overall opinions on the season as a whole?
Clara – Honestly shocked by how much I liked it. Maybe because I was a big GoT fan and Season 8 of that gave me trust issues. I went in expecting a car crash and got a really decent Season of TV. Decent enough at least that I’m hyped for Season 2 and will be absolutely crushed if they don’t do it justice. HBO have done it again, I’m hooked!
Amy – I was a little late joined the hype of GoT, also started at the end of season 8; but I was hooked immediately. Like everyone else, I was a little nervous because of how GoT ended. But once the opening intro started, I was instantly back in. With this break I’m going to be reading the book.
Season 2 can not come fast enough! With the return to Winterfell and seeing how Aemond explains to the greens about exactly what happened with Luke and Vhagar. The Dance of the Dragons has officially started.
