#weir speaks

[weirsight]

the original sin of house of the dragon is that it's an adaptation, not of the source material itself but the way it's constructed within another medium.

practical changes most certainly need to be made, they are necessary to fit within the limitations of an audiovisual medium. however, the story itself must remain intact. if the core themes of the source material are bent out of shape and exaggerated to fit what the showrunners, writers, and directors personal biases are instead of the original author, then at what point can it even be called an adaptation instead of something that is loosely inspired by? does it even resemble the original work anymore after being painted with the brush of thinly-veiled social commentary fit for a more contemporary setting instead of the quasi-medieval one for which serves as its foundation?

the sheer obnoxious arrogance to shrug, wave, even laugh off criticisms of the author and fans of his work (which itself isn't a sacred text free from any scrutiny) as opposed to taking a knee and observing why certain deviations garner frustration speaks volumes about how even as a collaborative effort, belligerence runs amok and squanders potential for improvement. it is understandable that certain aspects of art get lost in the adaptation process, but when that art is appropriated to service the sensibilities of so-called "creatives" who take a mile when given an inch and made more palatable for distribution, all the while fundamentally misinterpreting the author's vision and intent, how else are fans supposed to react?

...not positively, that much is evident.

[weirsight]

i would like to offer a rebuttal that perhaps aemond shouldn't have "mommy issues" to begin with. not only is there no indication of aemond sexually desiring alicent established in s1, but that his "issues" imply there to be some degree of resentment towards her festering inside of him that manifests as both physical and emotional longing. this makes absolutely no sense.

there are multiple scenes between aemond and alicent in s1 that firmly established a secure familial bond between them without any hint of psychosexual undertones. alicent is not afraid of aemond in s1. she hugs him, encourages him, even defied the king to attack lucerys in retribution for the injustice done to him! after the timeskip when the audience is reintroduced to aemond as an adult, alicent trusts aemond to go with criston in search of aegon so that he may be found and brought to her instead of to otto.

the idea to introduce "mommy issues" as both supposed development for aemond and resulting in a conflict between himself and alicent, is nothing short of shallow and contrived when there is neither prior onscreen evidence to serve as the foundation for this exploration throughout the show, or any indication within the original source text.

not even mushroom could get away with spewing this tomfoolery without losing his head.

[weirsight]

about 3 seasons into hotd and only now rhaenyra targaryen is having an onscreen conversation with her (presumed) siblings? one of whom is an imposter, but it says a lot knowing that the character of 'daeron the daring' was going to be scrapped in the very first season for no apparent reason. further adding to this misguided choice is the blatant shoehorning of unnatural dialogue in season 2 catering to the rushed reincorporation of daeron's character spewing from the mouths of others to signal to the book readers a frantic manner of 'don't worry! we didn't forget about him! there just wasn't enough time!' and to show-only watchers 'it turns out that alicent has another son who lives in oldtown and has a dragon, isn't that a surprise? bet you didn't see that coming!' thereby hastily trying to cover up their needless mistakes.

[weirsight]

you know what would’ve made aemond’s misadventures in harrenhal more compelling? if his visions revolved around his need to become a dangerous and proficient swordsman to overcompensate for his disability, especially in response to a conflict that continues to build as he gets older. explore how aemond feels as a highborn man existing in an ableist society who is physically hindered, while comparing and contrasting his disability with viserys, who suffered his own impairments. it's not hard to see how and why someone as resentful as aemond would train as much as he could, not only to become a credible threat in service to the greens, but to become physically stronger than the already deteriorating father who neglected to support him in a crucial moment of need, in favor of shielding the very nephew who blinded aemond from the consequences of his actions. that's what he should be envisioning.

[weirsight]

the thing i look forward to every time a new season of hotd airs is not even the show itself, it's the critical analyses coming from the fandom.

[weirsight]

any time some normie asks "but aren't the targaryens fireproof?" i just feel like this question should either go ignored or come with the automatic response of "read the books and find out."

[weirsight]

one would think professional screenwriters would understand the effects (both long term and short term) of erasing certain plot points when adapting someone else's work, but i guess not.

[weirsight]

that shot of Baela in the first teaser for s2 when she's screaming atop moondancer? initially i thought it was during rook's rest. i thought baela was going to follow rhaenys to rook's rest without permission, or that she went ahead and did it anyway because she was frustrated with the lack of momentum during the war, or even that she felt capable enough to do anything a man could do (in keeping with the theme of feminism vs. patriarchy). but with the shortened season order coming down from on high, i think the battle of the gullet was supposed to be the season finale. why else would baela be screaming from midair .................... unless her loved one/s got hurt or died in a major climactic moment of the season that required all hands on deck?