House of the Dragon boss defends drastically changing Daemon’s story in season 2

House of the Dragon boss defends drastically changing Daemon's story in season 2

As a long-time fan of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, I must admit that Daemon Targaryen’s journey in “House of the Dragon” season 2 left me feeling rather underwhelmed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed a good character arc as much as the next guy, but it seems like the writers have forgotten the golden rule – quality over quantity.

Recently, author George R.R. Martin openly expressed concerns about the TV series ‘House of the Dragon’, derived from his book ‘Fire & Blood’. Martin criticized it for straying too much from the original content and hinted at potential larger, potentially harmful changes in the future. However, what those changes might be remains unclear; Martin removed his blog post soon after it was published, and showrunner Ryan Condal of ‘House of the Dragon’ defended his adaptation decisions in a special podcast episode by HBO.

At WinterIsComing.net, we’re quite fond of “House of the Dragon”, and it’s not surprising! In its second season, there have been many alterations compared to “Fire & Blood”. It’s important to note that just because an adaptation strays from the original source doesn’t necessarily mean the changes are negative. There were several adjustments this past season that I found enjoyable. However, some modifications were more challenging to accept, such as how the show handled Daemon Targaryen, a character who was quite captivating in the first season.

As a gaming enthusiast, I’m diving into the latest podcast episode where Condal discusses Daemon. I’ll be analyzing his points to determine if they seem solid or if there’s something fishy about them.

Fire & Blood vs House of the Dragon

In Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon, Daemon Targaryen journeys towards the decaying Harrenhal castle with the intention of mobilizing an army. According to the books, he does this for his wife and queen Rhaenyra. The series introduces a twist, suggesting that Daemon initially considers raising the army for himself but ultimately reconsiders. In the show, he also grapples with haunting dreams from his dark past resurfacing, which are not mentioned in the book.

In the book, compared to the series, there’s a significant difference in how difficult it is for Daemon to assemble his army. In “Fire & Blood,” the smallfolk of the Riverlands respond swiftly to his call, with many eager to fight for Rhaenyra Targaryen, a figure they remember fondly from her childhood visits. The lords of the Riverlands are initially hesitant but eventually align themselves, especially after Daemon attacks Stone Hedge and captures several members of the Bracken family, the only Riverlands family to support Rhaenyra’s rival Aegon. In the show, however, Daemon delegates the attack on the Brackens to Willem Blackwood. Willem uses harsh tactics, which the lords of the Riverlands, including those who aid Daemon in the book, criticize for bringing violence to their lands. They withhold their support until young Lord Oscar Tully persuades them.

Prior to delving into Condal’s interpretations, let me express my viewpoint: The plot, as presented on the show, felt monotonous to me. From an adaptation perspective, it deviated so significantly from the book that it became virtually unidentifiable, which I consider a sign that they may have overstepped the mark. I don’t believe the storyline stood independently strong either. The dream sequences seemed shallow and repetitive, and the concept of Daemon struggling to rally people was hard for me to accept, given his background. This was not only unconvincing but also lacked dramatic impact. I also found it difficult to buy into the actions of the Riverlords. It seemed unlikely that a lord from one house would suggest attacking another, and the other lords would deem this reason enough to wake Daemon, scold him for being a tyrant, despite his possession of a dragon, which they do not have. This appeared overly optimistic considering they reside in Westeros, a region renowned for its brutality.

Ryan Condal defends changing Daemon’s storyline in House of the Dragon season 2

Instead of giving Condal a listening, let’s consider what he had to say. On the podcast, he mentioned that one of their significant hurdles in season 2 was structuring the narrative. “We typically start by mapping out the chronology of events ahead and determining our key milestones, major scenes, and crucial points,” he explained. “Our goal is to decide where our main characters are heading, who will be together there, and which actors from our established cast can intersect.” He added that they were fortunate with the Alicent, Rhaenyra, Aemond, Aegon, Helaena, and Jace storyline because it offered a lot of opportunities for interaction between these characters.

Whereas Daemon, after Blood and Cheese and after his big blowout argument with Rhaenyra, which I think is one of the best scenes in the season — thank you [director] Claire Kilner, thank you [writer] Sara Hess — he kind of ends up on an island at Harrenhal. And the story that we’re given in the book is essentially, Daemon goes to Harrenhal and raises a large host of river men.’ And the issue there is that because so many other things had to happen around him and that clearly is not a thing that just goes in and happens overnight — he has to take the castle, there’s work to be done — we needed Daemon to be in certain places at certain times and then come back into the main narrative when the other characters were ready to receive him, meaning they had also gone through changes in their arcs. So we sort of said, ‘okay, well, Matt Smith is an A++ actor. What do we do with him that is really interesting for Daemon and unexpected, and that also shows growth in his character and then gets us to the end point that we’re given in Fire & Blood,’ which is Daemon goes to Harrenhal and raises a large host of Rivermen.

As a gamer, I’m picking up what Condal is laying down – Daemon being secluded on Harrenhal’s island in season 2 and wanting to provide actor Matt Smith with an engaging role. However, when he mentions delivering “unexpected” scenes that demonstrate character development, it sets my nerves on edge. It’s all about the finer points: these unexpected elements could potentially veer off-course or not align with the established character arc of Daemon, which could lead to a less satisfying viewer experience.

House of the Dragon boss defends drastically changing Daemon's story in season 2

In simpler terms, Condal stated that they found it intriguing to make the process of raising an army in the Riverlands challenging for Daemon, given his apparent lack of diplomatic skills compared to his prowess as a warrior. They knew that the Riverlands were always disorganized and that the Blackwoods, Brackens, and Tullys would join the battle at the Battle of the Burning Mill. This would be the first major conflict of the war. Daemon, who isn’t portrayed as a unifier in this story, will find it difficult to navigate the complex social dynamics of the Riverlands. Instead of diplomatically addressing each house and trying to bring harmony, he will likely use his dragon and Targaryen heritage to assert dominance, essentially forcing his way through obstacles wherever he goes, much like hammering a nail onto a board. This is his style. His internal struggle revolves around the challenge of understanding and adapting to the ancient traditions of the Riverlands, which he views as outdated and backward.

Then, what is his internal arc? And that’s where we got to the idea that Harrenhal is this haunted castle. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Daemon were literally haunted by the ghosts of his past, that kind of torture and bend his will over the course of these pages as he’s trying to do this very complicated un-Daemon like thing on his external story of wrangling the Riverlands if he is being robbed of sleep and peace by whatever mystical things are going on in Harrenhal. And you know, there’s a witch that lives there in Alys.

Okay, now we’re getting into the problem areas. One of the issue with making raising an army a “struggle” for Daemon is that it goes against not only what we’re told in the book, but what we’ve learned on the show. Daemon spent years warring in the Stepstones in season 1. As the brother of the king, he would have had a leadership position. But now he can’t scare local lords into following him to save his life. It doesn’t line up and it’s dull to watch, because we keep expecting Daemon to act like the character we’ve seen him become and are disappointed when it doesn’t happen over and over again. It’s “unexpected,” sure, but it’s not entertaining or interesting or consistent. If you have to pick between for the former and the latter, the choice is easy.

In addition, I find Conal somewhat misguided in his interpretations of “Fire & Blood.” It appears he believes that as long as Daemon has amassed an army by the book’s conclusion, the show remains faithful to its source material. However, “Fire & Blood” is more than a sequence of events; it portrays characters with distinct personalities and motivations, which should be reflected in some way on screen.

Regarding the dreams, there isn’t much else I can add except that I found them shallow and overly frequent. Daemon harbors guilt for killing Jaehaerys Targaryen, which led to a dream featuring young Rhaenyra holding Jaehaerys’ corpse (remarkably vivid in my opinion). He also dreams about Rhaenyra sitting on the throne, only to decapitate her, reflecting his guilt over attempting to usurp her throne. His remorse for neglecting his daughters is expressed through Laena’s ghost, who inquires if he has taken care of them. The dreams continued in a similar vein. It was intriguing to see Milly Alcock reprise her role as young Rhaenyra Targaryen in the initial dream, but subsequent returns lost their charm, becoming almost predictable to the point where I would sigh whenever a deceased character appeared. It might have been more engaging if the show had attempted to make the dreams suspenseful or visually captivating, but by the end, King Viserys was merely waiting to converse with Daemon on the edge of his bed.

A little would have gone a long way. Instead a whole lot went a very short distance.

House of the Dragon boss defends drastically changing Daemon's story in season 2

The tyranny of character arcs

Alright, let’s let Condal take this home: “All those threads kind of came together and then we said, ‘Okay, just because you run away from every problem as it comes and faces you doesn’t mean that the problems have gone away,'” he said. “You’ve left a damaged battleground behind you, and the detritus of that is not gone simply because you left the Red Keep and you left Dragonstone. Forcing him to stare that in the eye and face that, forcing him to get over this wounded feeling that he has over being supplanted as the heir to the throne by Viserys for his niece, making him get over that, and how that finds great synthesis at the end when he’s humbled at the end and has to finally give in to the what Alys has been telling him the whole time, which is your way doesn’t work here, you have to give into the ways of the Rivermen. His way didn’t work, the way he was trying to deal with his problems with Viserys and Rhaenyra, and those things kind of come to roost at the same time in Episode 7 and force him to to grow, evolve and then move beyond.”

Daemon probably goes to the biggest, most radical change in the story this year. But at the end, he still went to Harrenhal, he still raised this river army. It was just a more complex and complicated story that has altered Daemon and the people around him in a big way and given us these great characters in Alys Rivers and Ser Simon Strong.

In agreement with Condal, it seems Daemon embarked on a significant voyage during this season. However, I believe my previous statements have indicated my displeasure with how the series navigated its storyline. Regrettably, I also felt unsatisfied with the final destination.

It seems to me that Daemon is more captivating as a character in the initial stages of the season compared to the finale. Initially, he grapples with conflicting loyalties towards his wife and daughters, his self-perceived superiority, and his eagerness for battle alongside his readiness to follow orders. Towards the end, however, after experiencing a supernatural vision of Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, he becomes fully devoted to her, seemingly resolving his internal struggles. This transformation in Daemon might make him a more virtuous individual, but it diminishes the intriguing complexities that made him such an engaging character on screen. Keep in mind, we’re talking about a television show here.

Occasionally, it seems as though screenwriters overemphasize the notion of character arcs: every significant character should undergo an arc during each season of a TV show, according to some experts. However, if this arc is uninteresting and the character becomes less appealing by the end because they have transformed into a duller version of themselves, what purpose does it serve? For instance, while Matt Smith is exceptionally gifted, I believe Daemon’s arc in House of the Dragon season 2 could have been more impactful if his development had been less dramatic; maybe he evolves and abandons the idea of raising an army without undergoing a complete transformation of his worldview.

I believe the creators of “House of the Dragon” could have adopted an approach similar to that used in “Game of Thrones”, where they might have given Daemon fewer appearances this season, allowing him some time off-screen. This show trusted its audience not to forget a character if they took a break for a week or two, and even Bran Stark was absent for an entire fifth season without causing concern among fans. “House of the Dragon” could benefit from such confidence in its viewers. While Matt Smith is certainly talented, it would be preferable for him to have less screen time than poor-quality screen time.

In this lengthy piece, Condal expounds extensively on Daemon’s journey, which led to numerous criticisms from me. On a time-to-content basis, I found it to be the least compelling part of ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2. As we approach season 3, I fervently wish the writers will distinguish between what is “good” and what is “unexpected,” muster the courage to let characters remain consistent with their established traits (for now) if it serves the narrative, and understand that when a character on their show behaves contrary to their source material counterpart, the adaptation has veered off course and corrective measures are necessary.

2024-09-14 16:42