Nobody Wants a Direct Fire & Blood Adaptation + Other TV Musings

Okay fine, there are definitely people who have their complaints about HBO's House of the Dragon and the changes they've made from the source material, George R R Martin's Fire & Blood. But there is one thing I can't help but think when I read the mountain of criticism the show seems to be getting after each episode on Twitter....

Y'all remember that Fire & Blood wasn't very good, right? The book is quite literally a recounting of Targaryen bullshit. It's in-universe second hand and third handle knowledge of past events. And, sure, some of it was interesting, but it's also told by people who were not there. And thus, it gives the House of the Dragon showrunners a lot of wiggle room in how they choose to adapt it. I'd argue most of what they are doing is working. There are only a few instances where I thought something didn't. Overall, I've found watching House of the Dragon far more enjoyable than when I read Fire & Blood, and I realize that's a very specific place to be when it comes to consuming this show, but why not throw my 2 cents out there?

House of Likes (season 3)
* Roderick Dustin is the absolute MVP of the season. Tommy Flanagan's portrayal of him was so funny and unhinged. His finale scene in the Season 3 finale was probably my favorite scene of the entire season. Satisfying, epic, gross, and hilarious. 

* The actors overall did a great job this season. Rhaenyra is one of the most complex characters on TV right now and Emma D'Arcy does a great job playing her. They have the hardest job in the show already and I hope they end up winning an Emmy for this performance at some point. It's just excellent all around

* All the changes made to Daeron Targaryen. Granted, you don't learn a ton about him in Fire & Blood, but (surprise) what you do learn is he's kind of a dick like his older brothers. Making him not care about the Iron Throne, at point even saying he doesn't care of Rhaenyra kept it, and having him used as a tool by Ormound Hightower (who was an excellent villian, by the way) was a lot more interesting. It also gave Gwayne Hightower's character a lot of depth as he clearly cares about his nephew. Also bless the crew on this show for the way they had to stage nearly every scene he is in to hide the fact that this kid is clearly 6 feet tall. 

* Aegon's delivery of "I'm alive" made me laugh way harder than it should have.

 

*Rhaena replacing Nettles was also a change I found way more interesting. Why make the audience learn an entire new character when you can use an existing one and remind people that Daemon is kind of a shit father and needs to work on that too.

*Caraxes. This long necked bastard is my favorite dragon. I'm going to be sad to see him go next season. 

House of Dislikes 

* The Allicent of it all. I get it. You can't really have Olivia Cooke get sick and die off screen like Allicent actually does in the story, but you can tell the showrunners were struggling with what to do with her. 

*Halaena's death was not nearly as emotional as it should've been and I don't think the dialogue she had this season did any favors in making the audience continue to sympathize with her. I almost feel like her character became a bit of a chore.

Over all, I thought season 3 was stronger than season 2. 4 will be the finale season of the show and it seems like it will be a lot more faced paced based on what is left in Rhaenyra's story. I'm glad we'll have another season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to tide us over while it gets made. 

Now onto the other shows I've been watching...

Furious

I initially wasn't going to tune into Hulu's new limited series starring Emmy Rossom but I've been hearing good word of mouth and now I might have to actually keep Hulu another month so I can finish it. It's a crime drama full of MESSY women (and men, but the women are the stars here) and I appreciate how raw the storytelling feels about that. It's very unapologetic in that regard, and it's very refreshing. Poor Jake Lacy is going to get typecast playing these creeps and assholes though.

Abbott Elementary

This is such a feel good watch for me and Janine is a character that always feels like a warm hug, but lately I've found myself not rushing to finish the season, or even making it a priority the way I used to. I don't think it's necessarily gotten worse. For the most part the writing is very consistent, the actors are all so funny, but I'm just not feeling it as much as I used to. It's taken me months to get through season 5 because another show or book or movie comes along that just feels more exciting. 

Ted Lasso

As of this writing, I've only seen the first episode of the newest season, which felt like it was sponsored by the Kansas City Tourism Board. I'm happy to have these characters back considering S3 was so lackluster, but we'll see how this goes. I'm excited for the dynamic of a women's team, but I know I'll miss some of the main players from the first few seasons who likely won't appear. 

The Diplomat

Another show I started based on Emmy talk alone. At first I wasn't sure about it, then tiny little Keri Russell full on spears Rufus Sewell in the 2nd or 3rd episode of the first season and I knew I had to stay. It's clear their character's marriage was on the rocks, but I didn't expect her to full on try to kick his ass over it. I finished season 1 and am looking forward to catching up on 2 and 3. 

Slow Horses

I have been trying to watch this show FOREVER. This is definitely a show that picked up the longer it went on. I really almost gave up after the second season, but then I watched 3, 4 and 5 back to back. I love that they are only 6 episodes and still manage to tell a complete story with that amount of time. It will be fun to watch a new season in real time this fall.