OhItsStefan

I'll say I was kind of sceptical at first, whether or not it would capture the spirit of the game I love, whether it would do it justice or follow the other recent adaptations of beloved franchises. I am incredibly happy to say that, based on the first episode, all my worries have gone, this show is phenomenal.

They struck just the right balance between staying true to the source, to the smallest details, and making it fresh for existing audiences as well as new ones. Really taking whats already there in the game and expanding on it for the TV Show, greatly enhancing the story in a different way.

Acting is great across the board and I was really pleasantly surprised with casting choices that left me cautious at first. Action feels snappy but is used very sparingly which has a result that makes the violence feel like it should, harrowing and dangerous.

Honestly, there's very, very little to like her. The plot is paperthin, so are the characters. The dialogue is horrible, things happen randomly without explanation and build up making basically everything it tries fall flat. All these backstories of the characters are laid out but nothing feels distinct or unique because there's a huge overlap in their backgrounds. There's also far too little time to even get to know and care for these characters. Even with 4 episodes it feels drawn out in the parts that don't matter and too rushed in parts that do matter. This all is not even mentioning the fact it's tied to The Witcher brand, in which case they've thrown out the little bit of information they could've used for these events, it's all horribly inconsistent with what's already established for no apparent reason other than to be different.

On a positive note, ignoring how well it fits The Witcher, the cinematography looks decent, the action is snappy and Meldorf is kinda funny.

It just baffles me how this show even came to release knowing it had to pass multiple sets of eyes for approval at several stages in it's development.

Honestly, really impressed with the show so far, this episode was amazing.

Even without 'real action' it was a great episode. A clear showcase of the writing talent they have now, only matched by the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones. With a limited budget, Game of Thrones had to stand out without flashy action so there was a real need write smart and engaging dialogue. House of the Dragon did not have that need but takes after it's predecessor when it comes to it's writing.

Pacing feels just right, not too fast, not too slow. Characters are built upon in a clever and meaningful way. Even though the book lacked concrete details on this, the writers manage to add something that feels natural.