# 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:** 27
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/522 "2022-10-12T14:22:52Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > \*\*The Church, too, is neutered by Martin. The Seven are basically a big joke, with very few of the noble class believing in them or following the path they laid out. When kings in Medieval Europe wanted to get a divorce, they had immense power struggles with the Church, power struggles that shook Europe to the core and eventually eroded the power of both King and Pope. In Westeros, on the other hand, the Targaryen kings can apparently reshape the Sept through the mere threat of dragonfire. Fine for Martin’s story, but yet another way his setting differs heavily from the real European middle ages. Granted if the nobles of Medieval Europe had dragons they could call upon, it is likely the Church in that period would have been pretty neutered as well. In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, the Faith actually seemed to be a good deal more powerful before Aegon the Conqueror showed up. The Faith Militant organized an uprising against Aenys I (Aegon’s son) and seemed to have support of the smallfolk and then Maegor the Cruel brutally suppressed them with dragonfire (and burned down the Sept of Rememberance, which is why Targaryens can threaten burning Septs afterwards) and then Jaehaerys I offered amnesty if the Faith Militant were disbanded. This Faith Militant were the group that Cersei decided to reinstate for her own goals… which backfired on her spectacularly. So from the history of House Targaryen it seemed that pissing off the Faith was a really big deal… until the folks who are pissing them off have dragons and are willing to use them against the Faith. And by the time the last dragon seemed to have died, the armies of the Faith had been completely decimated and precedence made the Targaryen rule sacrosanct. ---
**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 12, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/523 "2022-10-12T14:45:08Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Granted if the nobles of Medieval Europe had dragons they could call upon, it is likely the Church in that period would have been pretty neutered as well. Or the Church would have used their considerable wealth and influence to acquire their own dragons 😉 ---
**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 12, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/524 "2022-10-12T14:48:40Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I DO think, though, that there is value in pointing out inaccuracies Feel free to point out where Martin’s work portrays something that would not be historically accurate, were it meant to be taken as historical. That’s something that people do all the time. However, to speak of _responsibility_ on Martin’s part or that he has committed some kind of error or has failed because of comparisons to actual history, that’s not something I personally can take seriously. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/525 "2022-10-12T14:52:29Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > > Granted if the nobles of Medieval Europe had dragons they could call upon, it is likely the Church in that period would have been pretty neutered as well. > > Or the Church would have used their considerable wealth and influence to acquire their own dragons 😉 Well this would be more like some nobles from Russia come with dragons to Western Europe and the Church has no fucking idea how to counter that or capture and breed them before they get neutered. Not to mention they’d probably just ingratiate themselves to get close to power instead of trying to fight the dragon lords. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/526 "2022-10-12T15:04:46Z")
Man I could not disagree more. Daemon is an amazing character, and so is Aemond, and so is Rhaenyra. Alicent is very interesting as well as she is leaning towards a Cersei type role, but still trying to be kind and decent at heart. ---
**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 12, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/527 "2022-10-12T15:17:57Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Daemon is an amazing character, and so is Aemond, and so is Rhaenyra. Alicent is very interesting as well as she is leaning towards a Cersei type role, but still trying to be kind and decent at heart. I’m taking this series on its own. It’s certainly a lot less ambitious than _Game of Thrones_, but, you know what, ultimately, it failed. Martin failed by never finishing it, and HBO failed by not maintaining the standard of story telling to the end. I don’t love it the way I loved the books or first few seasons of _Game of Thrones_, but there’s enough in it to keep me interested and invested. The last two or three episodes have been especially good. I’m invested in these characters at least to some extent (certainly more than I’m invested in anything happening in _Rings of Power_). ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/528 "2022-10-12T16:03:59Z")
Agreed, I have a lot more confidence that this show will end well as they’ve known the end before ever starting. Also I don’t see how it can last more than three seasons or so, and the next two should be full of action. I didn’t like the new Aegon and Aemond kids. Aegon looks like they just replaced one teenager for another who doesn’t look any older, just completely different, and Aemond grew a massive jaw out of nowhere, not to mention looking way older than he should be and than his older brother. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/529 "2022-10-12T17:23:19Z")
Yeah, I had the same thought. I kept wondering, “_Who_ are these guys, again?” ---
**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 12, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/530 "2022-10-12T17:53:58Z")
I think the new Aemond is pretty damn cool. Who knows what he had in his genes waiting to sprout? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/531 "2022-10-12T20:10:48Z")
Agree. I think the characters, their intentions and reasons why, are so much more complex in HOTD. You could pretty easily assign a “good” and “bad” rating for almost every GOT character, with the bad ones almost always with purely self-serving reason for their actions. Sure, some of them like Theon, Varys and Daenerys do switch sides from good-to-bad and vice versa, but we generally knew where they stood at each point in time. If you think of an HOTD character, and put yourself I their position, you can understand and can sympathize with their viewpoint, and conclude that their actions are completely justified. To me, they are far “more human” than GOT characters. I actually think the series will surpass GOT in terms of critical acclaim, even though it may not quite become the same culture phenomenon. ---
**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 12, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/532 "2022-10-12T20:26:38Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > She did. Slapped him and then ignored him. She slapped him _before_ he made his pathetic “never good enough” complaint. ---
**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 12, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/533 "2022-10-12T20:30:15Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > If it wasn’t for the scene at the end with the other serving girl I would have assumed it was just a mistake and it was never meant to seem ambiguous. Both that, and Alicent’s reaction when Helaena asks for Dyanna add to the ambiguity. I re-watched the “moon tea” scene. At the end there’s a definite gurgling or choking sound as the camera closes in on Alicent’s face. And the we get a “J-cut” edit (“L-cut”? I can never remember which) in which we still see the video of Alicent’s face reacting to Dyanna, but we hear the audio of Alicent yelling at Aegon to “get up.” I really don’t know what they want us to think here. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/534 "2022-10-12T20:52:18Z")
Didn’t Alicent give Helaena is hug when she asked where Dyana was? To me, that made it even more ambiguous, which I think was also intentional. I predict it’s a play on us GOT fans who expect for Alicent to become the Cersei of this series, but that we’ll see Dyana again at some point. I wonder if Mysaria will somehow lure Aegon into fathering some little princes, knowing his carelessness and lack of control. Aemond is clearly being set up as the true contender from the Green side. By the way, one character that is likely almost universally hated is Larys. He was suspiciously absent from this episode. I know he rules Harrenhall now, but I’m sure he still has a big part to play. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/535 "2022-10-12T20:58:07Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Aemond is clearly being set up as the true contender from the Green side. I was thinking more like the muscle/wildcard. ---
**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 12, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/536 "2022-10-12T21:00:04Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Didn’t Alicent give Helaena is hug when she asked where Dyana was? To me, that made it even more ambiguous, I agree. So you think it was a fake out? Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/537 "2022-10-12T21:40:58Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I wonder if Mysaria will somehow lure Aegon into fathering some little princes, knowing his carelessness and lack of control. I’m thinking that might be her plan with Dyana. That she made sure Dyana didn’t get the Plan B tea. But, wouldn’t it be hard to hide a Targaryen bastard? Are all Targaryens part of the nobility? We’ve never seen any among the commonfolk. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/538 "2022-10-12T23:19:14Z")
If Alicent wanted to kill Dyanna, why did she give her a payment to ease her inconvenience? That seems like an unnecessary thing to do if you’re just going to kill the poor girl anyway. Maybe I’m just thinking of Darlene from _Ozark_. If she wanted you dead, she just blew a hole through your chest, then went back to finish her cigarette. There was no pretending to be nice first. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/539 "2022-10-12T23:44:06Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > If Alicent wanted to kill Dyanna, why did she give her a payment to ease her inconvenience? I don’t think she was killed at all, but it would be to get her trust to get her to drink the poison. I don’t think that happened though, casual murder would be a way bigger deal than the crown prince banging a rando. ---
**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 13, 2022, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/540 "2022-10-13T01:19:56Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > casual murder would be a way bigger deal than the crown prince banging a rando. Sorry, I think you mean _raping_ or _sexually assaulting_. _Banging_ doesn’t carry enough seriousness to describe the act. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521/541 "2022-10-13T04:35:33Z")
I just assumed the tea tasted bad, and that was why we heard a gurgling sound from Dyana. I thought she was just trying to swallow some bad medicine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521.md?page=28)