Second of His Name (S01E03)

Too long. The plot and the pulling of strings doesn't have the necessary grace that, for example, Baelish or Tywin Lannister gave it in Game of Thrones; there is no such refined figure here (yet). In addition, there is an oddly crafted crab battle, which is very reminiscent of the Battle of Bastards in its structure, but from a tactical point of view, it is completely upside down. (18/03/2023)

The third episode did not deviate significantly from the previous ones. And it could have. The creators seemed to have given up on their futile effort to write a dialogue that would be as interesting and full of intrigue as the verbal chess games in the Game of Thrones. They decided to go for uncompromising action instead. And that would have been fine if they hadn't buried their laudable intention under a ton of compromises, the most notable one being the annoying habit from the Game of Thrones - all action must take place either in the dark, fog, or smoke. Also, the screenwriters have no idea about warfare tactics, let alone strategy. For example: Defenders have soldiers on a tiny island with a big cave where they retreat in case of extreme danger (a dragon). Attackers have a fleet, soldiers, and a dragon. The dragon periodically grills the island, and the attacking fleet circles around the island, while defenders shoot at them from catapults (apparently fire-resistant because of the dragon?). How about this: A mass landing with aerial support, followed by gradual destruction or starvation of the cave-dwellers or blocking the entrances to the underground. This writing incompetence resulting in pure stupidity just to sell some special effects that the viewer may catch a glimpse of in the ubiquitous smoke annoyed me in GoT, and it annoys me here too. / Lesson learned: If you are attacked by a wild boar or a bear in the forest, don't panic and bravely spit in their eyes. You will die, but for a brief moment, you will be proud of yourself. (13/06/2023)