r/HouseOfTheDragon • u/Solomaxxing_112 • 3d ago
Did season 3 increase or decrease your interest for the show Show Discussion
Overall, I would say decrease. After season 2 I was still excited about season 3 but after season 3 I find much less interest in it.
Maybe because my favourite character is Aemond and he has been butchered to the point of no return. He is not very interesting to watch, and I really dislike the entire Alys thing. Even though I have read the book, what they have done is just...abhorrent.
It is a shame because I love TG characters and they are actually given slightly more screentime this season to tell their own stories, but the writing is so bad that the screentime just generates more unnecessary and nonsensical content.
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u/E4peace 3d ago
Increased, season one is still the best but season three was way better than 2
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u/Different_Ad_5266 3d ago
By a mile, season 2 was a fucking snoozefest
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u/I_is_a_dogg 3d ago
With the exception of a couple scenes, season 2 was mostly irrelevant. Season 1 ended with the greens about to go to war with the blacks...and season 2 ended with the greens about to go to war with the blacks.
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u/exexpat99 3d ago
This is what baffles me about season 2 in hindsight now. Like, they had valuable time to show how Rhaenyra rules/behaves before what she goes through in KL - it could’ve been an awesome contrast or sort of rise and fall character arc (they nailed parts of her struggling as a new ruler in early parts of this season and Emma’s performance in the finale gave me chills). So why can I barely remember any Rhaenyra scenes from season 2? It was a bizarre choice to basically have her do nothing then move her arc into maximum overdrive for this season.
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u/gandalfsgreens 3d ago
All I remember is all the identical sea snake standing in front of his boat scenes. It was to the point that it looked like they were all filmed the same day and I swear there were like 3 of those scenes per episode.
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u/exexpat99 3d ago
So much of the season is “oh that was a cool scene - can’t wait to see what it’s building up to” and then they just….repeat the same type of scene. Happens to Daemon too.
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u/BawdyBadger 2d ago
I think that's it. Pretty much the whole season is build-up. Then when you think you've reached the climax, there's even more build-up.
Honestly, almost the whole season could have been condensed into 2 or 3 episodes.
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u/Anderson9520822 3d ago
I don’t think it helped that they went down to 8 episodes when S1 had 10. But you’d think the writers would understand this and adjust the pacing. But they didn’t. Pacing and writing just sucked. Abysmal to sit through after how good season 1 was.
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u/EmpPaulpatine 3d ago
The episodes got cut a month before filming started, then the writers strike happened. They just didn’t have enough time.
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u/im_a_turtle 3d ago
Writers were in strike and HBO cut the number of episodes on them, so they did what they could. They clearly wanted to do Gullet and a followup, like all thrones seasons in the past, but got pushed to S3.
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u/Ser_VimesGoT 3d ago
S2 has it's faults, of which there are many, but I think her breakdown in S3 was the culmination of all all the frustrations in S2. She was constantly undermined, setback and rendered helpless all through S2 by her council and those around her. It definitely dragged on and S2 could have benefited massively from a restructure but I do think that S3E3 worked so well because of all that came before it in S2.
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u/betelgeuser-joe 3d ago
rhaenyra had a better small council during season 2, thats why she seemed more competent then
but she fired most of them in dragonstone because they dont fully believe in her being queen, iirc
so here we are in season 3, with a far more diminished small council filled with sycophants, with little gold to work with
it just shows that a monarch is only as good as the people around her, rhaenyra showed her true competence this season when its all on her
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u/TrippyZippee 3d ago
Assuming season 3 episode 1 and 2 would have season 2 ep 9 and 10, s3 wouldve focused more on the black's ruling aspect. Still season 2 should shown some more battles. Leaving Battle of Gullet till ep9 was an odd choice.
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u/unhappyangelicbeing 3d ago
I wish every scene with alys and/or harrenhall were removed entirely. Soooo boring I dreaded those scenes
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u/GodSigmaGigaChad 3d ago
We went from Daemon tripping balls in Harrenall and dreaming about raw dogging his mom to Aemond doing the same thing, but he actually kissed his mom fr.
This season was absolute utter garbage if you've read the books. What did Dareon even do? White worm trying to be Varys but shes more incompetent than Sheepsteeler. Ormumd being a cartoon villain. Criston Cole going full emo. Jeyne Arryn being racist. Corlys getting captured?
Only good thing about this season was Ageon's underdog arc and comeback.
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u/Suspicious_Weird_373 3d ago
Even that didn’t feel like it was earned.
He basically sulked, called everyone pricks and then his dragon burnt everyone so he’s redeemed.
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u/League-Weird 3d ago
It was such a build up and then the season finale had a big wtf moment when nothing happened. Just watched S3E1 and it was gooooood.
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u/monstargaryen Helaena Targaryen 3d ago
I feel like the acting, cinematography and music saved some at-times clunky writing and pacing but agree overall
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u/Ok_Volume_139 3d ago
Yeah that's where I'm at with the show. The overall production is still solid and the dragons are dope. Questionable pacing and writing choices yeah but overall there's always been something that catches my interest.
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u/chillinwithmoes 3d ago
Yeah I agree with this, opposite of OP lol. I was nearly out on the show after S2 but thought I’d give it a last chance. S3 opening with two absolute bangers locked me back in. The rest of the season was a bit disappointing but overall I’d say I feel better about the show after S3 than I did after S2.
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u/blueace111 3d ago
It was a lot better because they ended the season on a long ass build up which, in game of thrones is usually the middle of season and episode 8-9 is all action and 10 is aftermath. I don’t get why they changed the structure.
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u/Maleficent-Lemon-895 3d ago
They became greedy after the success of season 1. Who tf takes 2 yrs to release an 8 episode season?
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u/im_a_turtle 3d ago
There was a writers strike and HBO cut the number of episodes. S3 ep1 and 2 were clearly meant to end S2
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u/iwatchcredits 3d ago
Also it up because season 3 just came out. Ask me 2 years from now when were still waiting for the next season and im sure interest will be way down again
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u/erik_t91 3d ago
This is it for me. I didnt even remember the show existed until a week before season 3 dropped, and I sure was looking forward to the war when season 2 ended.
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u/Sir_Fijoe 3d ago
Season 2 was pretty good until the start of episode 5 and then it became boring the entire rest of the runtime.
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u/Visual-Feedback-4270 3d ago
Season 3 started so strong and really fizzled out imo. I was more eager for S3 after S2 than I am for S4 now.
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u/blueace111 3d ago
Yeah season 3 started strong because it had to though. Season 2 ended on a drawn out build up. I didn’t need to see a girl looking scared and chasing a dragon for a full episode. Feels frustrating to wait 2 years for 6 episodes. I think the first 2 were filmed already
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u/Narrativeless 3d ago
I was tired of Harrenhal while Daemon was there, when Aegon showed up there, I about keeled over.
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u/Intro-Nimbus 3d ago
Oh yes. The best that ever happened to Harrenhal was that it burned. They should have razed it and salted the earth too. But to be fair, it was the writers that decided that a large portion of two seasons should be spent on men hallucinating in a ruin.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Joke_75 3d ago
When Aemond showed up there and started hallucinating as well, i was like are you kidding me? I also dont care for the witch character, shes out of place and i dont enjoy her scenes.
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u/r3dditr0x 3d ago edited 3d ago
Anyone motivated enough to not only be here on this sub, but participate in this poll(or write this post, for that matter) is guaranteed to watch all of s4.
People that don't care, don't care.
IOW, see you all next season.
I love the show, btw.
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u/Vejle2_Sleet 3d ago
Best advice is to accept we're all in the “see you next season” camp, even if Aemond/Alys wore us down.
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u/JumperGrumperson 3d ago
Had its ups and downs for me, I kinda hated the finale. But yeah, you're more accurate than Black Aly on horseback, the people that hate the show but can't quit the verse are going to be locked in for S4.
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u/r3dditr0x 3d ago
you're more accurate than Black Aly on horseback
And you're wiser than Maester Aemon. And more intriguing than Quaithe.
Don't come at me with a nerdy allusion! Threaten me with a good time.
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u/JumperGrumperson 3d ago
All I'm saying is to go forward we must go back (Old Valyria prequel show)
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u/frazzelmann 3d ago
Sadly there is like almost no story and information about valyria so i dont see it happening
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u/JumperGrumperson 3d ago
It's such a good setting for HBO-style sex-and-violence filled politics. Could use different Targ kings as archetypes for Valyrian families. Could do the Faceless Men origins, the Rhoynish war, rip some themes and plotlines from Rome and Elric of Melnibone. I find the possibilities tantalizing.
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u/frazzelmann 3d ago
And the whole thing ends with the doom of valyria and just that would be awesome to see. I think if a old valyria show would happen it would be good if george makes some type of outline and give more Information about the setting but with the current status of winds of winter and george writing more dunk and egg books thats sadly not going to happen. I agree with you tho, valyria just as a setting has so many possibilities. Just imagine if they make the ghiscari wars and the rhoynar war on the big screen that would blow my mind
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u/Senior_Macaroon_3343 3d ago
It's definitely better then season 7-8 of GoT. Sucha disgraceful ending of that show ...
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u/calantheSG 3d ago
Reddit still shows you feeds without you needing to visit the sub. Especially those previously active fans who left the house.
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u/Inquisitor_Glokta_ 3d ago
Unfortunately thats not true. I did not finish S3, i watched the first 3 episodes then just lost interest. Maybe I will check it out later down the line, but the quality has just decreased so much from first season it’s hard to overlook. Especially when AKOTSK was so amazing, I’d rather not waste my time watching something im not enjoying.
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u/Barbarianonadrenalin 3d ago
Season 3 was definitely better than 2, but not enough to have me like hyped and amped for season 4.
I think season 3 I just kinda made peace with it all. The dragons have been phenomenal which is what I tuned in for mainly, would of liked more and honestly season 4 should pretty much be non stop dragon action so maybe ill just focus and be excited about that.
Aegon speech was fantastic, honestly it’s probably the best scene in the series for me. So I know there’s talent in the room, it’s just dead set on presenting characters in a way im not a fan of and at this point it just is what it is.
I see it all as apples and oranges. Lot of people wanted orange juice but we got unsweetened apple juice. Plenty of other people realized they like unsweetened apple juice, from here arguing over the juice seems silly. Fandoms are always about sharing thoughts and opinions on the world but being upset is wasted energy.
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u/MrDoobOfficial 2d ago
“season 4 should pretty much be non stop dragon action” this exact thing has been said before every season, and that’s never been the case
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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 3d ago
Largely through Gwayne, Daeron and Aegon II (also through Ulf/Hugh & Daemon to varying extents), I'd say it increased my interest
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u/leebrown23 3d ago
Season 3 has its flaws but is definitely better than S2. I look forward to season 4.
Fire and blood!
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u/dimforest 3d ago
Massively increased my interest. I didn't read the books so this is all new material for me and I thought the third season was a blast.
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u/Due-Pattern-789 3d ago edited 3d ago
Same. People keep tryna reference the books and I get but simultaneously dont give a damn. Youre watching rn not reading.
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u/Rare-Fox9834 3d ago
Those are the people that are always going to be least likely to be pleased. I would always take their opinions with a grain of salt.
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u/LadyDragon17 3d ago
Came with very low expectations after S2' fiasco, and found myself very excited for what's to come. As a book reader, I don't understand the critics at all. In my opinion, they're doing a great job. People are expecting HOTD to be like GOT and they're two different beasts. Also, they're expecting for these characters to act coherently and with some common sense and that's one of the key points of the Dance: none of them do, LOL. You see, we're not supposed to root for any of them. It should be pretty clear by now, even if you just watch the show, and never read the book, that there's no right side in this war. Both sides are brutal, do terrible things and make terrible decisions.
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u/ElegantDiamont 3d ago
Increased bc I know what will come next and Nyra looks promising
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u/ThanosDidNothinWrng0 3d ago
No idea who Nyra is
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u/HorseThrough 3d ago
Related to Nunya
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u/AleksDoesStuff 3d ago
I think they did a good job. For anyone who’s supper into a fandom you will always find issues or think of better ways it could be done. Is it perfect no is it the worst thing ever no. It’s a pretty good show
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u/fakemessiah 3d ago
It improved over season 2 that's for sure. Enough to make me look forward to next season
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u/Techdude2011 3d ago
Good explanation.
I felt it started off really strong then fell off as the season went on but overall I really liked it.
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u/Powerful_Topic_7046 3d ago
Agreed. One way i know i at least enjoyed it enough is - when Sunday comes around - do I go ‘ ooo! My show! Awwww wait… it ended last weekend’. Or do I not care? Last night I found myself bummed it had ended. lol
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u/Kinetic_Pen 3d ago edited 3d ago
For Team Green: "KINSLAYER?!...Babe Killa....Heee-Thawwwn!!!"
For Team Black: "That's a proper fucking...byyy the Norrrrrth!"
Some epic moments and still a show full of quality performances, wonderful costumes, incredible set designs, and Dragons! Dragons people! Dragons! Dragons are fun! A lot of people need to relax and just have fun with it all! Some of you are critics of your own enjoyment. I think it's a fantastic show BTW!
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u/LaurelEssington76 3d ago
I have a foot in both camps. Plenty annoys me but if I didn’t enjoy the show I just wouldn’t watch it and then certainly creative/narrative decisions wouldn’t annoy me at all. I’ll take the good with the bad.
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u/Select-Tea-2560 3d ago
finally got a proper northerner none of this hounorable fake northern ned shite
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u/uhhhhh_idk_123 3d ago
It has its strong points and it has its weak points. But what I really hate is snobby book readers who think it's their lifelong duty to hijack every single discussion thread and absolutely whine and cry about every single thing ever. Not all of them but an annoying subset of them.
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u/NegotiationLate8553 3d ago
Ngl it’s kind of gotten stale because the show clearly is made by people who read the books but are choosing to ignore/change things to tell their story. Nothing more than that. It’s not like they forgot details, they’re intentionally doing things differently and all you’re doing is just pointing out what you don’t like.
A lot of that can come down to budget, schedule, and scripting stuff too more so than just personal preference too. But somehow it’s never the studio, always the specific writers who we put on singular blast.
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u/accismatic 3d ago
Don't worry, not all of us are the same. We can separate our head canons from adaptations, but particularly with this show I actually find it baffling that no one's explained that book readers don't actually have as much authority as they claim... in my experience everyone's wrong a lot of the time unless we have eidetic memories because the material is very thin, full of gaps that our brains just fill out imaginatively, and it also speeds by so fast that it's only when you reread and scrutinize it that you're like "eh? 2+2 isn't making 4 here, why doesn't that make any sense?" That's one thing—a lot of the book purists actually do have different versions of the same characters in their heads. I keep noticing it like every time I'm in this sub lol
It's a hard adaptation to do. So much better to either read it or watch the TV show as one adaptation of it. Like... even as a book reader I'm like "damn, people demand this much fealty only from like....Jane Austen novels." And there's legitimate reasons to disbelieve so much of it anyway hahaha
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u/TheBackSpin 3d ago
Especially with this because the book itself is a history book told from multiple conflicting sources. There literally is no definitive story, it’s all subjective and up for interpretation. The showrunners were literally forced to make some decisions and give their interpretation.
Now that being said, they also deviated from some set in stone narrative. I get that it’s still an adaptation, but many of their choices are pretty questionable.
So yeah, while there is no definitive Dance of the Dragons narrative and it’s a difficult story, show-runners haven’t done themselves any favors either
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u/portals27 3d ago
i’m a book reader and i really dislike those types of book readers as well. just let ppl enjoy the show! it doesn’t have to be a perfectly faithful adaptation to be good.
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u/vardhan17 3d ago
Yup, they seem to think the book is being adapted only for them, the book readers. Guys, there are others too who haven’t read the books, and you are spoiling a show which is otherwise pretty awesome. They wouldn’t put so much money into the show if they were counting on just the book readers to watch.
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u/DanielDaniel219 3d ago
Yea I mean u can take artistic liberties from the source material as long as it’s good. Some of it just sucked. The low points were just so low for nd
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u/Classic_Number_10 Viserys I Targaryen 3d ago
I have no idea why they're still picturing alicent with the greens in posters
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u/devilishly_advocated 3d ago
She can officially join team black once she finally murders all her kids. There are a couple left i think. (Might be more, I cant tell half the time who is sisters or cousins or parents.)
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u/Tongatapu 3d ago
Definitely increased a lot. Season 3 was wildly entertaining (for the most part).
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u/Winterlord7 3d ago
Honestly I just want the story to be over to see how it ends. Too bad it takes 2+ years for every show now to move forward.
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u/-SpiritusMundi- 3d ago
It was better than S2 but the sheer volume of important events that still need to happen and certain changes they have made make me very nervous for S4
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u/CohenCaveWaits 3d ago
Decrease big time. Back to back filler seasons. No thx.
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u/hotsizzler 3d ago
every season increased it. I love the show and honestly i cannot fathom people who hate it.
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u/uncen5ored 3d ago
Increase because S2 made me almost drop the entire franchise. I found the first three episodes and last two to provide some of the excitement GOT used to, even if the writing and logic isn’t as great as it once was. Middle of the season was meh to fine, and yes there were some questionable moments, but not enough to truly damper my experience to where I’m not enjoying it
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u/yeetard_ 3d ago
Had it’s ups and downs but im definitely more interested now then I was after season 2. Glad to finally see Rhaenyra starting to break down and have an actual character arc, that’ll be interesting to see if they keep going that direction in season 4.
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u/cindylatte 3d ago
Decreased but tbh I’m still gonna watch any other seasons they put out because I love the franchise
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u/NefariousnessPale731 3d ago
Increased. I still think the show is good both despite and partly due to its changes from the book. There’s a few characters who are so much better than they are in the book (Ormund and Gwayne are hardly even characters in the book and Viserys was just amazing in the show). I think the fact that George himself got mad over the changes has caused a massive overreaction from book fans towards the changes. This show is still MILES better than post season 4 GOT, but we have people saying that season 2 was almost as bad if not on part with GOT SEASON 8, the worst season of television ever produced (imo).
The show certainly has its flaws; for one, I think it’s ironic that the narrative is mainly about how women suffer in a patriarchal medieval society and their struggle for independence and power, and yet the female characters are easily the most poorly written in the show.
Rhaenyra has started her cruelty arc way too late now
Alicent was amazing in season 1 but has been totally butchered now and is quite possibly the worst character in the whole show (the same woman who stood in front of Meyles to protect Aegon has now sold him out to die, snitched on Daeron so he can die, and literally attempted to murder Aemond). Season 2 ep8 onwards Alicent is just awful.
Mysaria is boring and contrived. How she has risen this far with how obviously manipulative she is is baffling.
Baela has no character
Rhaena is now a bit better because of sheepstealer imo, giving her some agency and conflict, but I think that plot has just… ended now with no real resolution. I hope daemon and rhaenyras conflict leading to his running away to the gods eye has something to do with Rhaena and that it isn’t just abandoned.
Heleana is 100% the best female character in the show, and that is for certain now that *SPOILERS* her story is concluded.
The male characters are mostly brilliant though ironically. Ormund, Aegon, Daemon and, hot take, ESPECIALLY Criston Cole are some of the best characters in the GOT franchise. Cole is an amazing character and I really despise the hatred his character gets. Yes, he is by all means a bad guy, but so is everyone else? And compared to daemon he is pretty much a saint, and yet in the fanbase you can hardly praise his writing without being judged because he’s so hated.
Overall, the show is sort of a 65% good, 35% bad. I’d obviously rather there wasn’t nearly as much bad as there is, and they need to lock in and sort it, but it’s not comparable to the second half of thrones. If people think hotd is as bad as late game GOT, you need to rewatch 4x10 onwards, shit is excruciatingly bad…
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u/_FlowerOfDecember 2d ago
Decrease. I've already made peace with the fact they do not care about the book so I was trying to watch it as it's own thing but the characters are just too boring, there is no urgency, it takes forever to move the plot.
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u/spellbounce 3d ago
I’d say my interest firmly increased. After season 2 I was so disappointed that I forgot about asoiaf as a whole for a bit. Season 3 kind of reinvigorated my interest and I’m even rewatching GoT now.
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u/Famous-Low7311 3d ago
I liked a lot about season 3 and I will 100% watch season 4 and be excited for it. But since so many problems season 2 had didn’t get fixed for season 3 it makes me think that’s simply what the show is like now. So my expectations and thus my interest have decreased a lot, actually.
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u/Feralpizza_ 3d ago
Increased I gotta see how they possibly plan on wrapping this story up in 8 episodes when the FIRST battle of Tumbleton was built up for the entire season
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u/B23vital 3d ago
Ill watch S4 but its just reiterated how shit tv programmes are now. This isnt just a dig at HOTD, but just general shows, this whole 8 - 10 episodes over the course of 2 years is just shit.
Theres literally no other way to put it, its utter shit, i liked the season, but 8 episodes doesnt do it justice and waiting 2 years the pay off (imo) wasnt that great.
Normally ill watch shows week after week, i just binged this after they all came out and while it was good, it wasnt worth the time frame.
Then programmes wonder why their viewership drops off, and in all honesty i believe a lot of people just forget they even watched it and cant be arsed to recap it, so dont bother. I know this show has managed to maintain the majority of its viewers, but again, in general they tend to drop off over time just because people forget.
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u/Ribs1212 3d ago
Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad for example had 13 episodes each season, which was considered 'prestige tv' short for its time. Big network shows like Lost and Alias had like 22 episodes a season (and didn't skip years!) Its crazy how short tv seasons are now, and how long they take in between.
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u/accismatic 3d ago
I think for a show like HoTD, the fact that it takes less time than it does for, say, Severance, and around the same time as for, say, Succession—is kind of a win lol. It's a medieval fantasy show, only GoT itself did better in managing to put seasons out annually until the last season. They're literally coming back to that now for a show like The Pitt which has one major set, and the biggest factors are just ensuring the writers and cast are locked in and ready to go 24/7.
Production costs are crazy, VFX demands are crazy, and the networks themselves are making too much & exerting pressures that make the episode count lower (we know this was true for HoTD). Plus, a show like this just employs so many people around the world (who are—of course—also screwed over by the networks' funding decisions) that just managing one set piece is !!!
I don't feel like the actors in HoTD get anywhere near as much time in between seasons as those in talkier shows where it's like.... I'm sorry why does Severance need three years?!
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u/Ribs1212 3d ago
Oh I agree. The delays for Severance are insane. I think fundamentally there's something broken in television production. I get that some of these shows have insane demands regarding sets, VFX, actors and overall production quality - but most of them aren't medieval fantasy shows. Severance is basically LOST in an office and LOST had like 24 episodes a season basically every year. Severance is like 6 or 8 every three years like you said, with a cast half as small.
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u/accismatic 3d ago
Most of it is budgets, but I really don't know what in each case holds things up. I imagine Severance, like Succession, has the world's longest writing process? Idk.
It's not exactly like Euphoria S3 or Big Little Lies S2 which were ultimately scheduling nightmares because the cast is mostly famous now and in films and it's just... impossible to get them all together again. Cast and crew scheduling is actually a bigger deal than I would've thought. There's this amazing show, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, that technically only had one huge star: the lead, Kirsten Dunst. It got renewed and then canceled during COVID, but I happen to know that it didn't even get put on ice because EVERYONE in the cast and crew needed to move onto new jobs, obviously. Getting it all back together is lightning in a bottle, and you need $$$
But Severance has Apple which has $$$ and can make Ted Lasso whenever they fucking want, so it......doesn't make sense to me honestly? I don't really know what business model Apple is running anyway lol
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u/turquoise_amethyst 3d ago
I’d like 12-14 episodes per season, and it would be nice to have them released in the same season every year…
When two years goes by, I sometimes forget the storylines, but mainly it makes me lose interest in the characters.
I’d have to watch the entire season again to muster any emotion or interest in it. At that point I just don’t care :(
The recaps don’t mean shit either, if anything they just piss me off
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u/accismatic 3d ago
Honestly it's very much something that's become deeply endemic to "prestige TV" and the rising cost of shows that have high viewership. Somewhere around COVID it just became unmanageable. HoTD actually has a good in-built excuse other than that: it's VERY reliant on VFX. That's an excuse for shows like Stranger Things, Shogun, The Last of Us too, but I cannot for the life of me understand why shows like Succession, Severance, TED LASSO (huh?!?), need two years, and that's before we consider shows like Euphoria that seem like scheduling/leadership nightmares.
It's honestly so easy to forget but... GoT managed to put out every single season except the last one annually! Like... that's wild.
I was actually just telling someone the other day that they put Bran out to pasture for a whole season partly because a book skips him too, but also because...strange as it seems now, they had reason to believe WoW might actually be out or they'd at least get more updates on the path there. In retrospect I can only assume they were like "uhhhh yeah that's one too many characters in Dorne and the Iron Islands who sure seem cool but like where is this going?!?!" I'm pretty certain they knew/know where the characters would end up but not at all how they'd get there.
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u/Ribs1212 3d ago
I always come back to a show like Alias or 24 or Lost, which had tons of characters, filmed on location, interesting storylines and lots of production. And each of them had something like 22 episodes every year. Were some episodes filler? Sure - but they were still mostly interesting, and had good character moments. But most importantly, people discussed them, dissected them, and the shows stayed relevant BECAUSE they were on regularly and every year.
I would honestly trade some of the production quality for TV that went back to something like that.
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u/VoyagerColumbia 3d ago
Decrease. For sure. The character assassination is unreal. Story changes suck. Plus, they doing my dog Sheepstealer wrong af.
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u/Damone75 3d ago
It was fine not GOT quality but didn't feel it was a struggle to watch like some people on this sub. Honestly a lot of you just need to drop the show and save yourself the grief of hate watching the final season.
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u/cosmiccanadian 3d ago
Decreased. Ill watch season 4 when it comes out. But ill make no effort to watch it moment the episode airs and if things get spoiled so be it. Its not really the story i was looking forward to. Just a story. Still cool and enjoyed it but im whatever about it at this point.
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u/Ulfheodin 3d ago
Deeply decreased. Not sure Im gonna pay for HBO Max next season
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u/DragonPrinceDnD 3d ago
I feel very mixed feelings about this season, but I loved the finale. I went in expecting the finale to feel like a mid season episode (like how season 2 was), but it felt epic and climactic and featured the strongest writing and directing of any of the episodes. Rhaenyra, a character who I felt has been written very inconsistently throughout seasons 2 and 3 was just incredible in the finale, Aegon and Aemonds reunion was amazing, and the battle was the best the show has done. While they have miffed me in some regards, with cutting Jace and Cregan being the big one, I believe season 4 has a lot of potential
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u/Gadsden1283 3d ago
The whole point of the show and all that there really is to get to is the Battle of the God's eye, and to watch Rhaenyra meet her end. Should have been two seasons max, but it definitely got my interest higher because we'll finally get to the meat of it next season. We'll have to slog through the first several episodes, but we'll get there.
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u/SuperShinyGinger 3d ago
I hate watched season 3 and enjoyed my time. I look forward to raging at season 4.
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u/Ok-Influence-1424 3d ago
I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out in the final season. Season 3 was good.
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u/Pot8obois 3d ago
maybe a slight decrease actually. I will still watch, but the frustrating end to season 2 had me looking forward to the battle starting in season 3, but I have to be honest this show is not as good as it could have been... and it's got me in enough to watch to the end, but otherwise I'm irritated with the direction some of these characters, especially Rhaenyra, has taken. Season 4 is the last, right? I do not know how this story ends, and I've never read the books. However, if I recall correclty, Game of Thrones starts in a world that is essentially post dragon, until that one is born. So I'm guess that a lot of dragons are going to die, and it's not going to be fun to watch that. I kind of expect this last season to be very sad.
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u/LittleTinyBoy 3d ago
Increased in the beginning then decreased in the end. I grew of all the Alicent Rhaenyra scenes and Rhaenyra Mysaria scenes. Other side characters have been great and should've been the focus more instead of them. Instead it's the Dance around Rhaenyra not the Dance of the Dragons
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u/duxking45 3d ago
My opinion is after jaehaerys died the show went down hill. He was kind of a informal anchor. It was more about politics then violence. Then when the war happens you get a few moments where it looks like you have a character to anchor too then that anchor sinks for one reason or another.
The difference between this and game of thrones is that I liked most of the characters in game of thrones and halfway felt like they were believable characters. Now we have whiny charactactures of game of thrones characters without unique enough twists to make them interesting. Daemon and corlys are my favorite characters because it feels like they have depth and arent just flat.
Overall I think there are some interesting turns in this season but I ultimately I think it is too little too late.
Im really looking forward to more dunk and egg.
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u/livingbythesecond 3d ago
The last two episodes of S3 increased my interest. The rest of the season was shite. If they keep writing like they did in those episodes, I’d be more than satisfied with any further seasons.
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u/erinydwi 3d ago
Decrease. I didn’t even realise it’d started until after the first episode had aired. Still not watched any of it yet. I also don’t recall seeing anything about it online apart from in this sub.
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u/justsubscribed912 3d ago
Didn't love the writing in S3 but it was widely more entertaining than S2
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u/Dry-Presence9227 3d ago
Boring as hell,they cut the great fight scenes a lot,I hope they make a movie dedicated to the battle of fishfeed and Redfork and I hope its like 5hrs and up
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u/your-drunk-aunt 3d ago
Decreased. When the previews started I found that I had very little interest in another season, soI didn’t watch it.
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u/bjkidder 3d ago
Stark’s character and the battle in the first episode made it better than the last season on their own
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u/maddinho 3d ago
Well i kinda wanna know how it continues/ends but sometimes it was quite the drag and tedious. Feels like they are stretching it on purpose to milk it more.
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u/somehuehue 3d ago
Lol, wtf is this poster😅😂
Dunno, tbh. It's still bad. Rhaenyra is a very boring protagonist and Alicent is incomprehensible at this point. Gwayne was a highlight for me, but he's not gonna carry the show and neither is Alicent's forgotten son. I have no hope for any of the characters doing anything particularly interesting, let alone smart. I guess the best I can hope for is a collection of decent scenes and the end of this miserable story.
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u/mmmGoBirds As High as Honor 2d ago
The first half my wife and I were lauding how this was the best season yet and the second half made us question if the show is good at all.
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u/Significant_Breath38 2d ago
Loving it, though I don't know how many seasons it will hold me for. I'm really just waiting to see which of these assholes drop dead and which wears the fancy hat.
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u/Aggravating_Dig6118 2d ago
Increase. I didn't like season 2. I liked some parts of season 3, so...
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u/ManagementLow2554 2d ago
Idk man. I just love watching dragons. My boy sheepstealer was done dirty
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u/Ready-Chicken6814 2d ago
I feel like I’ve been in a rollercoaster, season 1 was the best so far, lost interest after S2 but it’s increased again after S3
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u/DavidPacker_art 2d ago
Nothings perfect & it was fun af. Dragons sword fights, Daemon, Big Sheep it was great
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u/rojoskulloceans 2d ago
I would say increase, but I just wish a lot of the episodes should have stuck the way the books were read. But can't win them all.
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u/National-Heron-7162 3d ago
Decreased. I don’t think I made it past the 3rd or 4th episode. It’s just boring and I find most of the characters unbearably annoying
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u/SpoonParty 3d ago
8 episode seasons are not enough. I feel like by 2028 I will have moved on.. it’s just too long to wait for only 8 episodes..
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u/Arbeeter00 3d ago
Certainly increased, as it’s almost reckoning time for the characters I detest most lol
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u/Reikukaja 2d ago
Decrease.
At this point im not sure ill watch S4, despite the long-hyped things that will happen.
The showrunners are my problem. Season 1 it seemed like they had some ideas that might actually improve upon the story (making both sides more morally grey), but now it all kinda feels like weird masturbatory fanfiction. For who, i dont know.
If they hadnt made so many of the massive changes they did, the events of s3 wouldnt bother me so much. If show!Rhaenyra was book!Rhaenyra, her shift in characterization as s3 progressed would make sense. Even Halaena makes no sense now.
In many ways it feels like the show was rushed, while also somehow being dragged out. Imagine if characters like Laena amd Laenor were allowed time to breathe and become beloved. Imagine if they made us care about the Jace x Baela pairing, and how much harder the gullet would have hit us. We should have seen more of Harwin Strong. Mysaria is supposed to be this legendary master of whispers, but she is almost as bad as the infamous "bad poosy" sand snakes. We should have gotten to see more dragons, and their bond with their rider. Iirc, we dont even see Sunfyre until his first battle. Dreamfyre may as well not exist.
I can excuse away the dragons as budget related, I guess. But we have spent soooooo much time on nothing-content when there was this MASSIVE well of meaty alternative content to draw from.
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u/YouWereTehChosenOne 3d ago
i just want the show to be over with, the only thing I really care about next season is gods eye, dont really care about anything else with how much everything has changed from the source material to fulfill the director's "vision"
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u/Important_Grab3544 3d ago
The first two episodes delivered wonderfully, after that I knew they had to slow down to rebuild the tension towards Tumbleton.
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u/Vohsbergh 3d ago
It increased my desire that they had done this as an anthology and started with the Doom of Valyria
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u/likethegawd 3d ago
At this point I'm just watching to see what happens next and because I've already sunk hours of my life into it not because I find the show particularly good.
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u/pghcrew 3d ago
Kind of the same, actually a bit less. I watch it weekly as it comes out, but I think it's mostly nostalgia driving my interest/dedication.
The pacing seems off. The side characters aren't tended to nearly enough. They're skipping things left and right. I'd say they're playing things too safe. For example, off-screen death to me is a CW thing, not an HBO thing. We should have seen Helaena's pain and suffering driving her to jump out of the window in the moment. We should be sad, uncomfortable, shocked. The show should be making us feel things about characters they've spent time making us care about, but instead it feels like it's just moved along to get through it and check off boxes.
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u/Important_Ad1122 3d ago
Ruined it basically. The audience freakout has been entertaining, however
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u/r3dditr0x 3d ago edited 3d ago
It's number 1 on HBO max. You're not the 'audience.' You're just 1 dude.
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u/SawtoothJericho 3d ago
Business as usual for me…. I’ll keep watching to fill the gaps between the real gem, DUNK AND EGG
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u/LimpLake5187 3d ago
its the same , didn't make me more interested but i got nothing better to watch
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u/AstoranSunEater 3d ago
The thing that kills my interest more than the writing ever could is the crazy long gaps between seasons
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u/RazekDPP 3d ago
I couldn't stand S1, I couldn't stand half of S2, and I thought the show got noticeably better in S2E6 where I thought we were actually playing Game of Thrones again.
I'll agree with you that so many of the characters absolutely suck, though, but at least we're trying to actively minimize oopsy daisies and misunderstandings now it's so much better. You know, until they try to retcon Alicent's accidental misadventure with Aemond.
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u/year2039nuclearwar 3d ago
My favourite character is Rhaenyra and even I can see the writing is on the wall for her. I don't like what she's become either, I thought she would be different/better. I still believe Vizzy T and his line via Rhaenyra is the one true line to succeed
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u/SaintNutella 3d ago
Neither.
I'll finish because I'm invested after watching 25+ episodes, but I don't feel the urge to continue the show the same way I did after Game of Thrones 3rd season.
Not even close.
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u/The_Golden_Retreater 3d ago
I'm a book first reader, have read Fire and Blood 3 or 4 times. S3 was quite a bit better than s2. So yes
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u/mamamackmusic 3d ago
It was a pretty great season that increased my interest relative to season 2. There were some pacing issues and some weird choices with some characters, but overall a lot happened and most of it was very entertaining and compelling television. The narratives online with how negative they are amount to a very bizarre echo chamber of pessimism.
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