# House of the Dragon, an HBO prequel series to Game of Thrones **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [May 6, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521 "2021-05-06T13:17:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/361 "2022-10-04T01:14:15Z")
I’m not a fan of the Kardashians, but this was hilarious. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bphjSKHFwIQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Targashians Take Over Westeros") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bphjSKHFwIQ) ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/362 "2022-10-04T04:36:16Z")
Nah… assuming you are calling HBO Max on-demand, it looked terrible on my new MacBook w/ the fancy screen. I kept thinking Safari was dimming it so I would re-start, pop in and out of full-screen, etc to no avail. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/363 "2022-10-04T06:13:06Z")
Am I the inly one who watches this show (and other visually-oriented series) on a 65” screen, at night, with the lights off? ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/364 "2022-10-04T14:08:07Z")
That episode (7) was AMAZING and I will put it up against the very best of GoT. So many pay-offs! Not a moment wasted. I am now fully invested in this show, and rooting hard for Daemon/Rhaenyra. I am glad I read the book years ago when it first came out, because I don’t remember the details of what happens next. The book is like a history book that covers 150 years, so it has a very different feel than the song of Ice and Fire books. When they revealed Laenor at the end, I gasped and then cheered! ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/365 "2022-10-04T14:09:37Z")
Also, even though I am rooting for the blacks, Aemond might be my new favorite character. If Viserys was smart, he’d make him the heir over Aegon, who reminds me way too much of Joffrey B. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/367 "2022-10-04T14:16:07Z")
It’s hard for me to commit entirely to the blacks. Alicent is still a very sympathetic and understandable character. But her two sons are horrible monsters. The first thing that made me think badly if Alicent was her demand to take a child’s eye in retribution. But that could be excused for the heat of the moment. Rhaenyra seems clearly to be the intended protagonist. And her two boys seem like sweethearts. But Daemon is a sick, twisted murderer. How can I side with someone who murdered his first wife so coldly and brutally? I’ll just say that I consider this a strength of the story, not a weakness. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/368 "2022-10-04T14:43:47Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Nah… assuming you are calling HBO Max on-demand, it looked terrible on my new MacBook w/ the fancy screen. I kept thinking Safari was dimming it so I would re-start, pop in and out of full-screen, etc to no avail. We switched from watching on HBO max to on demand because it was too dark for us to tell what was going on, the difference was literally night and day. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/369 "2022-10-04T14:50:57Z")
If your TV settings are set correctly, the “dark” scenes should still look good. Even tho I am rooting for the blacks, I think trying to assassinate Laenor was super evil. Seems to me the better option would be to catch him with one of his “squires” and then have the marriage anulled and send him to the wall. But maybe that would result in a death sentence too and cause more problems with the Velaryons. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/370 "2022-10-04T14:56:01Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > I think trying to assassinate Laenor was super evil. But they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/371 "2022-10-04T14:59:54Z")
I have watched all of GOT and HOTD on my 65" 4k tv streaming from HBO Max via my computer. I’ve never had an issue with darkness. Just my 2 cents. I totally missed the end reveal of Laenor, but that makes me feel a lot better about it. My excuse is I was watching before bedtime and may have been semi asleep by that point. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/372 "2022-10-04T15:03:56Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I totally missed the end reveal of Laenor, but that makes me feel a lot better about it. My excuse is I was watching before bedtime and may have been semi asleep by that point. Without the hair it was easily missed. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/373 "2022-10-04T15:04:37Z")
Wait, so you are saying Laenor’s getaway was part of their plan? I assumed Laenor defeated his attacker and then threw his body in the fire, so he could getaway and everyone would assume he was dead. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/374 "2022-10-04T15:06:00Z")
The attacker was his boyfriend, the body in the fire was the one Daemon killed. They were all in on it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/375 "2022-10-04T15:07:04Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > I think trying to assassinate Laenor was super evil. I thought they were in on the ruse. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/376 "2022-10-04T15:08:40Z")
I think one thing that helps explain Daemon’s actions throughout this season is that he is not so much evil as just … considers himself a god amongst men. I guess that alone could be considered monstrously evil, but when he does something like kill his wife from the Vale, he just sees it as aligning pieces on a chess board, rather than taking a human life that has value. I see much of the Targaryens’ behavior as analogous to the gods in ancient Greek myths. They will toy with and even kill humans at will, much as we might kill a spider without any moral quandry. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/377 "2022-10-04T15:09:39Z")
It sure looked like that guy was trying to kill Laenor to me. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/378 "2022-10-04T15:15:11Z")
Yes…that’s the idea. It had to look like the guy was actually trying to kill him so there would be a witness that could corroborate events. Soon as the other guy ran off they threw the fake Laenor in the fire and ran off together. That was the so called murderer and Laenor rowing away together at the end, it does not work any other way than everyone being in on it. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/379 "2022-10-04T15:18:16Z")
Ah now I get it. That guy Daemon killed on the stairs was the body they used. Now it makes sense. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/380 "2022-10-04T15:21:38Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Also, even though I am rooting for the blacks, Aemond might be my new favorite character. Ugh, he’s a bloody psycopath. “You will die in flames, just like your father”? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/381 "2022-10-04T15:23:44Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Wait, so you are saying Laenor’s getaway was part of their plan? I assumed Laenor defeated his attacker and then threw his body in the fire, so he could getaway and everyone would assume he was dead. > [@DigitalC](#): > > The attacker was his boyfriend, the body in the fire was the one Daemon killed. They were all in on it. Qarl and Laenor were in on it, but not the Targaryens, I assume. Daemon tried to get Qarl to kill him but Qarl realized he could fake the murder and run away with Daemon anyways. So, evil on both counts. Murdering your husband is evil, but so is murdering a random servant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521.md?page=20)