House of the Dragon – Season 2: I will readily admit that I am a huge Game of Thrones fan. Despite getting to the party relatively late in the original series, I think it was around Season 5 or 6, I was able to binge the earlier series and then be all caught up for the last two series. I have read the Game of Thrones books, and eagerly await the next volume which has been delayed time and again by author and super busy guy George R. R. Martin. Then it was announced that a prequel series would be made in the Westeros world. I was intrigued, but wouldn’t allow myself to get too excited about it. House of the Dragon was begins about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen.
For me the season was slow to get going, which was very different from Game of Thrones which started fast and just picked up speed. I think that this 13 minute refresh for Season 1 is helpful, especially given that we are almost two years since the first season was released.
I found it dealing with English-style intrigue for the Tutors and the Henry VIII questions with whether a woman could be the Queen. A similar story unfolds with this series. Starting with a clean slate, the clash becomes one of battling friends and siblings for the Iron Throne. Upon the death of the King, who had a living daughter (Rhaenyra Targaryen) and a brother (Daemon Targaryen) there is also the new Queen (Alicent Hightower) who bore sons for the King (Aegon II, Heleana and Aemond). The names can be confuing the the years pass quickly with younger Rhaenyra then engaging with the same brother Daemon. At the conclusion of the first season, the entire succession is turned upside down with words uttered by the dying King and creating Elizabeth I type of intrigue.
Enter Season 2, which aired last night. This series looks fabulous. They have smartly and generously sprinkled dragons in this series because, after all, they are cool. But still I can’t help but thinking that the world of Westeros that we were shown was so vast, and the political intrigue amongst this family of Targaryens seems small. Many of the names sound the same and so many have the long blond hair which can add to the confusion.
Ultimately the sides are being drawn, and War is Coming, in the same way that Winter is Coming in the original. It was inevitable. Game of Thrones was effective because it had great performances, terrific writing which generally followed the books pretty closely, and spent the money it needed on CGI and scenes (filmed in Northern Ireland, Croatia and other locations). There was a blend of sex and violence, characters you love to hate and plenty of surprises. So far this isn’t happening with House of the Dragon. Maybe it is a slow build. Another difference for me is that none of the characters are overly likeable, and we aren’t cheering for them like we did for Jon Snow, the Starks (some of them anyway) and Danny Targaryen (the Mother of Dragons). It is a vital piece for the audience. I will continue to watch. Episode 1 was fairly straightforward with re-engaging the characters and building on the end of Season 1. We are briefly introduced to the Starks in this first episode and The Wall, defending Westeros from death from the north. I will continue to watch and hope for more.
Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial: On Netflix, this is a new 6 part series that talks about the Nuremburg trials set after WWII was finished and the surviving leaders of the Third Reich are put on trial. All the countries involved in the defeat of the Nazis were part of the prosecution and the judges.
There is some colourization of previous black and white films, with various historians speaking to events as they occurred and unfolded. Much of it is done through the eyes of reporter and writer William L. Shirer. He started in the late 1930s and carried on in various locations as a US reporter and writer as war broke out.
There are enactments of the stories along with actual archival footage with actual voices of those involved in the trials, as well as speeches and events themselves with subtitles.
I am a WWII buff, and this was interesting to watch. I liked to hear the actual voices from those who testified at the trials. My generation and later recoil from black and white footage, so the colourization helps to make it more real for me anyway. I find the actor who plays Hitler as one of the weaker links in the production. Somehow I suspect that Hitler wasn’t always yelling and screaming and appearing on the edge of sanity. But he is shown as this constantly. But despite this it is effective to have this combination of real filming and the older actual footage. For those who are interested in WWII and history, this for me is worth watching and as good as any recent documentaries on the subject.
Mondays With Robbie 