House Of The Dragon Season 1 Finale Review: A Sad Dissapointment

Man, this show has gone off the rails these last 3-4 episodes. The House of the Dragon Season 1 Finale, “The Black Queen”, was another sad disappointment to end a series that started off so brightly.

It’s honestly sad thinking about how good this show was from Episodes 1-5 and then to now see how it has divulged into its nonsensical, convenient, wishy-washy plot contrivances conclusion.

Remember when characters like Rhaenyra, King Viserys, Otto Hightower, and Alicent Hightower actually made choices that were consistent with their book characters, while also suffering from the consequences of said choices? Yeah, those were good times.

To be honest, I don’t even think I’ve the energy or willpower to go on another 2,000+ word long rant about this episode, so I’ll try to keep this review divided into three brief, succinct categories: moments I liked, moments I disliked, and moments I absolutely despised.

Okay, I’ll start out with the moments I liked: absolutely nothing.

Wait, don’t click off yet, I’m only joking. Of course, there are still great aspects about this show, even though I have fallen out of love with it (more like crashed out of love), in particular in the visuals, acting, and cinematography departments.

Simply put, even though Amazon spent $1B on CGI, set designs, and costumes for the Rings of Power, HBO has outclassed them in all three of those categories in House of the Dragon.

Not only has HBO nailed the CGI the dragons and the set designs/cinematography of places like Dragonstone, Driftmark, King’s Landing, and Storm’s End, but has also made this world feel alive with unique, creative costumes for even the smallest of background characters.

There hasn’t been an episode in this series to date that hasn’t gotten me out of my seat for a shot of a beautiful, awe-inspiring dragon (such as Meleys, Vhagar, and Caraxes), or not had me lost in the heraldry and finery of minor lords, such as Lord Bartimos Celtigar, Lord Bormund Baratheon, and Lord Rickard Stark.

If HBO can take anything out of this series (which I’m sure they have plenty to take), then it’s the fact that they outclassed Amazon despite spending less than a quarter of their $1B budget.

As for this episode, the shots of a stormy, rainy Storm’s End were amazing…as they should be. The ancient citadel of House Baratheon looked as every bit as intimidating and menacing as the family it houses. Plus, the CGI on Vermithor the Bronze Fury (King Jaehaerys‘ dragon) was incredible and he’s probably now my new favorite dragon, while Arrax (Prince Lucerys’ dragon) was also amazing.

Moreover, the ‘battle scene’ (more on that later) was the first GOT/HOTD battle I actually really enjoyed as not only did it showcase the first real dragon battle of the Dance, but it was also visible.

Finally, HBO has learned their lesson about on-screen battle visibility.

Plus, I have to give a shoutout to the acting once again. Obviously, HBO never fails with their casting (except for a certain prince whose name starts with the letter J; sorry, I can only see a young Jim Carrey with that actor’s mannerisms), but I still have to give it a mention.

Alright, now onto Category 2: Thing I Did Not Like.

Well, it’s pretty much everything that involved Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, and Corlys Velayron.

Essentially, this episode had Rhaenyra flip-flop on whether it was right to attack her usurper brother, King Aegon II, and his council/family members as she ‘didn’t want to plunge the realm into war’. Seriously?!?! Are you kidding me, Ryan Condal and all of the rest of his writing staff? Why are you making Rhaenyra such a boring, 2-deminesional character all of a sudden?

Not only is Rhaenyra hell-bent on reclaiming her birthright in the original source material and is willingly to sacrifice just about anything (initially, she gets a lot more ruthless later on), but she also doesn’t become a pacificist all of a sudden just because that’s what modern society would expect.

Sure, going to war over a ‘throne’ in the modern world would be rightfully frowned upon as a needless waste of human life, but HOTD is set in a fantasy medieval world. Needless waste of human life is the norm, especially when a ruler’s life and rights are threatened.

The mere notion that Rhaenyra’s right to rule being questioned could spell the death for not only her, but also all of her children and extended family. It makes no sense why a medieval ruler (which Rhaenyra is) would be so frivolously on defending her right to rule when her life and the lives of her children are a stake.

Plus, haven’t we just set up nine episodes of Rhaenyra vowing to ‘make a new order/world’ when she ascends the Iron Throne? Can’t do that if you don’t have the throne, Rhaenyra.

Are you really telling me, Ryan Condal and his team of writers, that when the moment comes for Rhaenyra to become queen, she is more than happy to just back off and let her spoiled, insolent, usurping little brother take over? I don’t think so.

As for Rhaenys, why did these writers turn her into a moron? When confronted by Daemon about not killing King Aegon II and his family, Rhaenys made the argument that ‘this war is not her’s’ ‘it isn’t for her to strike the first blow’ ‘and she’s only loyal to her house and grandchildren’. Does that make any sense to you? No? Good, me either.

You know, Rhaenys, that your grandchildren are not only hostile dragon riders that are huge threats to King Aegon II and his family, but are also the heirs and children of Queen Rhaenyra, the very person who’s contesting the Iron Throne. No wonder Daemon nearly choked her out right then and there as her reasoning for not wanting to end the war prematurely was STUPID.

Your grandchildren are GOING TO GET MURDERED unless you defeat the Hightower-Targaryen family, which you could have done in the blink of an eye. Yes, she may be called a ‘Kinslayer’ by the people and lords of the realm for it, but it’s not like she’s one to be bothered by what people think of her.

Corlys was also supremely inconsistent in this episode too as he just gave up his lifelong motivation of wanting to be remembered forever in the annals of history in the space of one conversation because ‘he’s seen enough bloodshed’ with the deaths of his son, daughter, and brother.

This would have been a pretty good argument and character change if this had occurred in the final season, when such change does occur in the novel for those very reasons, but not in this episode. By going back and forth on his desire for fame, it ruins his character’s resolute involvement in the Dance. Why fight if you don’t care who sits on the Iron Throne?

Finally, can these writers please give Baela and Rhaena something to do other than either smile at their betrotheds or give Rhaenyra a glass of wine. I know they weren’t very active in the Dance in the source material, but their personalities (which are actually quite interesting) were on full display in the post-Dance story.

So, it’s not like the writers have no idea what they would say or do during this war. I don’t know, have one of them fly off with Jacaerys when he goes up North, or have them actually speak to their betrotheds. Have them do something!

Now, for Category 3: Moments I Despised.

First, I’ll start off with a small one: why are these factions being called ‘the Greens’ and ‘the Blacks’?

I know they are called that in the book, but there’s no reason why they are being called that in the show? Other than Larys Strong whispering to his brother Harwin Strong (who’s dead, BTW, so it’s not like he’s saying it) that the Hightowers light the Hightower Flame green when they go to war, there’s been zero organic mentioning of the Greens being called the Greens and the Blacks being called the Blacks.

They just call themselves that out of nowhere.

Plus, with this show having Alicent and Rhaenyra becoming best friends again, it doesn’t make sense as to why there even would be two ‘rival’ factions anymore. They’re more like two sides of a family that don’t get along at this point.

There’re no other lords (aside from Strong) who have been featured in this show to fervently support one faction or another up until now. How can you have a meaningful faction without people not a part of your family supporting it?

Okay, now for the first of the two moments I really couldn’t stand: Rhaenyra’s extremely graphic childbirth scene.

How many times is this series going to show birth scenes? This is now the third birth scene we’ve seen, and this one was a real doozy. I get birth is an EXTREMELY uncomfortable, painful experience that is solely unique to women, and I give them all of the credit in the world and them some for being able to go through with such a task.

Yet, why are the showrunners so insistent on beating us over the head with this fact? And why do they have to make it so graphic?

We legitimately saw a dead baby come sliding out of Rhaenyra’s privates and then splatter to the floor. I had to skip forward until the funeral scene as it was getting a little too gross for me. And if it’s too gross for me, an avid fan of this franchise, then I don’t know how casual fans resisted the urge to turn the channel.

I’m sure the showrunners wanted to replace one notorious graphic scene (hint…Ramsey and Sansa…hint) from GOT with this one, but it fell flat for me. There’s a reason why no one liked that scene from the original show in the first place.

The second, and far less graphic, scene was the Battle Above Storm’s End. Simply put, the showrunners have RUINED all of the gravity and weight behind the Dance with this scene.

In the book, there’s still a debate over which proposal Lord Borros should choose from, though far more in depth and witty, and there’s still a brief argument between Aemond and Lucerys. But, where the book and the show dramatically differ is that fact that Aemond actively tries (and succeeds) in killing Lucerys and his dragon, which starts the true Dance of the Dragons.

In the show, however, the whole Dance is going to start because Aemond and Lucerys lost control of their pet dragons. Really, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnick?!?!

The showrunners actually thought it would be a good idea to have the most consequential civil war in Targaryen family history start because two cousins lost control of their dragons while trying to scare one another? That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.

Not only does this put into question how Aegon the Conqueror and Daenerys Targaryen were able to control their dragons when they were faced with the slightest sign of an attack, but it also just adds to the growing trend of important events happening in this show ‘by accident’.

What do I mean? Remember when Alicent first became Rhaenyra’s rival due to Criston Cole accidentally revealing that Rhaenyra lied to her? Or what about when Viserys accidently revealed Aegon’s Prophecy to Alicent, who he thought was Rhaenyra, on his deathbed that led to Aegon II being crowned? Or what about the entrances to the Dragonpit being accidentally left unguarded, which allowed Rhaenys to walk right in and reclaim her dragon? And, of course, Aemond and Lucerys accidently losing control of their dragons which accidently results in the death of Lucerys.

Accidental writing is not clever writing, it’s contrived writing. None of these ‘big moments’ have the huge payoffs as their counterparts in Game of Thrones did because they have been contrived by the writers, rather than organically chosen by the characters.

Anywho, maybe I’m being a little too harsh on this show. I know a lot of fans love it, which is great to see, but I can’t get over how poor the writing quality has become since the show started chugging through the time jumps. Maybe the reason why I’m so disappointed in this show is because I’m just a hopeless romantic of the first four seasons of GOT (as many are) and I thought the first four episodes of this show were heading down that same direction.

House of the Dragon Episode 10: “The Black Queen” gets a 5.5/10. A shallow reminder of what this franchise could have been if not for poor, inexperienced writers.

And, would you look at that, this review is now over 2,000 words. I guess I still do have the energy to endlessly complain about this show.

 

Images Source: Featured Image: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)

In Text Image 1: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)

In Text Image 2: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)

In Text Image 3: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)

In Text Image 4: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)

In Text Image 5: (HBO) (House of the Dragon | S1 EP10: Inside the Episode (HBO) – YouTube)