More ‘House of the Dragon’ news than you can shake a catspaw dagger at.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

Don’t we all?

I think I need a dwarf donkey in my life. from aww

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV House of the dragon News

House of the Dragon premieres on Sunday (beyond excited), and I’ve been sitting on a TON of stories about it so as to not just turn this into a House of the Dragon News of the Day blog. So either dig in or scroll down, because this is going to be a minute. 

Before we begin, here’s a quick history lesson from the author himself:

17 dragons. SEVENTEEN. That’s 14 more dragons than the last show, which is a lot of dragons. Entertainment Weekly has an excellent look at the dragons themselves and all of the practical, “scientific,” and design thoughts that the show puts into them.

The Ringer has a good “cheat sheet” for House of the Dragon, including detailed explanations of who the characters and dragons are, of the settings, the swords, and other important props and miscellaneous items if you are a bit of a newbie to the Game of Thrones world.

And Vanity Fair has a much deeper dive into the actual story of House of the Dragon.

Here are some of the major characters we’ll be following on this series:

UPDATE! More:

In this piece, Milly Alcock who plays the young Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Emily Carey who plays the young Alicent Hightower discuss a lot of the process of being cast and playing the younger versions of characters who are portrayed by other actors. Alcock also discusses some of the themes of the series and their relationship:

“‘House of the Dragon’ really creates a nuanced conversation of misogyny,” Alcock said. “We don’t only explore it through a level of women being shut down and the patriarchy, but also go in-depth about the internalized misogyny that women are constantly faced with, and the competitiveness. Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship is at the forefront of that conversation.”

According to Miguel Sapochnik, it was his wife, Alexis Raben‘s idea to center the focus on the two women:

“One day, she said, ‘This would be much more interesting if it was about the two main female characters, rather than the male characters,’” Sapochnik recalls. “‘If you really focused in on the patriarchy’s perception of women, and the fact that they’d rather destroy themselves than see a woman on the throne.’ That wasn’t a perspective I have ever told before. I think it made this show feel more contemporary too.” While the pair begin the show as friends, disruption in the kingdom finds them on opposite ends of an ideological spectrum when it comes to the patriarchal structure they’re trapped in. “We said, ‘What if Alicent is like “Women for Trump,” and Rhaenyra’s like punk rock?’”

I love it. Gimme.

Here, Steve Toussaint is interviewed about his character Corlys Velaryon, his experience playing the role as a Black man, and the racist backlash.

Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys, turned down a role on Game of Thrones because “It’s about dragons.” He didn’t make that mistake twice. (To be fair to him, I was offered a first edition of Game of Thrones when it was published, and I did the same thing, so.)

The Ringer outlines why House of the Dragon might be harder for audiences to follow than Game of Thrones, and a lot of it boils down to the fact that this series is so much about the Targaryens who have similar names, looks, and a penchant for incest.

Speaking of that tricky family line, here’s a helpful guide to who’s who in the Targaryens.

The question everyone is asking is whether House of the Dragons can replicate Game of Thrones‘ success. What will the measure of success be for this show?

The showrunners want to clarify: they are not going to shy away from the reality of violence against women in this universe, but they are not going to depict sexual violence on the show. It will be handled off-screen.

As for Matt Smith, he thinks there are too many sex scenes in the show.

There will be no Starbucks cups on House of the Dragon.

In this interview with George R.R. Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal, the use of prophecy as a plot point in House of the Dragon is brought up. This is fascinating to me, because prophecy is very heavily used in the books, and it was an important piece of the story on the show in the first seasons, but completely dropped by the last few (around the same time Martin was no longer consulted by Benioff and Weiss).

Here’s what is exciting to me:

The show’s primary characters are the fifth king of Westeros, Viserys I (Paddy Considine), and his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock), who would inherit the throne without question if only she were a man. Something passes between them that is stirring discussion. Can you explain?

Condal: I think the Game of Thrones nerds were very interested and intrigued and compelled by the secret that Viserys tells Rhaenyra, connecting Aegon [the first king of the family and the original Westeros conqueror] with the prophecies that we know about the Long Night and the Others [a.k.a. the White Walkers] and the Night King coming out of the North—and how maybe the Targaryen dynasty was aware of it long before we think they were.

These are prophecies that ultimately played out as the climax of the original series. This show suggests that not only are they known by the Targaryens 200 years before, but they’ve been known for about a century.

Condal: I think they were very intrigued by that. A lot of them said I committed A Song of Ice and Fire heresy, but I did tell them: “That came from George.” I reassured everybody.

What is the significance of these prophecies, George? Unless I’ve missed it, is this something you wrote in one of the books, or is that an invention of the show?

Martin: It’s mentioned here and there—in connection with Prince Rhaegar, for example [the brother of Daenerys, played on Game of Thrones by Wilf Scolding]. I mean, it’s such a sprawling thing now. In the Dunk and Egg stories [about a future king, “Egg,” a.k.a. Aegon V], there’s one of Egg’s brothers who has these prophetic dreams, which of course he can’t handle. He had become a drunkard because they freaked him out. If you go all the way back to Daenys the Dreamer, why did she leave? She saw the Doom of Valyria coming. All of this is part of it, but I’m still two books away from the ending, so I haven’t fully explained it all yet.

[Note: The Doom of Valyria was an Atlantis-like cataclysm that demolished the old world roughly a century before Aegon I, the first king of Westeros. Martin has previously noted that “the Targaryens were the only nobles with dragons who escaped the destruction of Valyria.” Having advance notice of history is one of the keys to their power.]

Is one of the implications of this series that the Targaryens might’ve been better prepared for the doomsday prophecy if not for this Dance of Dragons civil war that decimated their family and stripped them of these powerful beasts?

Martin: I don’t want to give too much away, because some of this is going to be in the later books, but this is 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. There was no sell-by date on that prophecy. That’s the issue. The Targaryens that know about it are all thinking, Okay, this is going to happen in my lifetime, I have to be prepared! Or, It’s going to happen in my son’s lifetime. Nobody said it’s going to happen 200 years from now. If the Dance of the Dragons had not happened, what would’ve happened to the next generation? What would’ve happened in the generation after that? Yeah, there’s a lot to be unwound there.

I can’t wait to dig into this in the recaps, y’all. Anyway, the entire interview is terrific and well worth your time if you are excited about the series.

The reviews of the first episode came in a couple of weeks ago, and so far, so good. And here’s some reason to have hope that it will be good. 

Finally, The AV Club has a guide to every Game of Thrones series in the works, if House of the Dragon isn’t enough for you.

Some conservatives are SO MAD about those Breaking Bad statues in Albuquerque. I mean, I get it, they’re fictional meth dealers, but they also brought real dollars to the city and state.

Kelly Clarkson is looking for undiscovered singers with her “Kellyoke” tour. It stops in Dallas if you’re interested.

Some maniac has made a YouTube playlist with every video played on MTV’s 120 Minutes, God bless them. 

Apparently, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and Alex Wagner were childhood friends, and now they anchor the 7/8 and 8/9 slots? What’s even weirder is that MSNBC’s Katie Tur and Jacob Soboroff also grew up together. What gives?

Here’s an interview with Jinx Monsoon and Willow Pill, two of my very favorite Drag Race contestants who also happen to be this most recent seasons’ winners.

You can get a free three-month subscription to Apple TV+ from Best Buy (but only if you are a new or returning subscriber).

If you know, you know:

online polls

In Development

  • The Mole, one of the dumbest/best reality game shows, is being rebooted at Netflix. I’m guessing Anderson Cooper won’t be hosting, though, which is a shame.
  • The Woman in the Wall, an Irish gothic thriller starring Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack has been greenlit at Showtime and BBC. 
  • The Family Plan, an action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, has been acquired by Apple TV+.
  • Bama Rush, a documentary about the sorority rush season at the University of Alabama, is in the works for HBO Max.

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Wednesday will premiere on Netflix this fall.

  • Vampire Academy premieres on Peacock on September 15.
  • Sidney will debut on Apple TV+ on September 23.
  • The Masked Singer returns on Fox on September 21.
  • TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons will air on Fox on August 22.
  • The Mighty Ones returns on Hulu and Peacock on September 1.
  • García will stream on HBO Max in October.
  • Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer premieres on Netflix on September 7.

R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen, Director of Das Boot, Air Force One, and The Perfect Storm among others

WATCH THIS

Look Both Ways: Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart stars in this “Sliding Doors” style film about a young woman whose life goes in two very different directions. Premiere. Netflix

Royalteen: A teen with a scandalous past tries to keep it from coming out while dating the crown prince in this new film. Premiere. Netflix

Junior Baking Show: It’s The Great British Baking Show, but with children. Netflix

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Demi Lovato, Kenan Thompson, Angel Olsen
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Alison Brie, Sasheer Zamata, Father John Misty, guest host Nicole Byer
  • The Daily Show: John Boyega

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Abbott Elementary
(repeat)		 Abbott Elementary
(repeat)		 Abbott Elementary
(repeat)		 Abbott Elementary
(repeat)		 Press Your Luck
(repeat)
CBS Big Brother
(new)		 The Challenge: USA
(new)		 S.W.A.T.
(repeat)
CW Mysteries Decoded
(new)		 Wellington Paranormal
(new)		 Wellington Paranormal
(repeat)		 Local
FOX MasterChef
(new)		 News/Local
NBC America’s Got Talent
(new)		 Password
(new)		 Chicago P.D.
(repeat)

Leave a Reply