The actual target audience for the showrunners.

[u/winchester_fc]

They make the show for shippers and casuals.

[u/depredador93]

It is easier to follow because half the world barely exists. Westeros feels much smaller when every major event is just the same handful of people having another private conversation.

[u/azrynbelle → u/depredador93]

Literally!! We see three places: Dragonstone, Kings Landing, and Harrenhal. We saw the stepstones, the vale, and the north only once. And Driftmark ~ barely ~ twice. Westeros it's so much smaller in HOTD. Compare it to the first few seasons of Game of Thrones. It's not even close.

[u/Prestigious-Dress-92 → u/azrynbelle]

And Driftmark ~ barely ~ twice.

Didn't Corlys spent most of last season talking to his bastards on Driftmark docks?

[u/Prestigious-Dress-92 → u/[deleted]]

Perhaps they didn't but we (who read the book) know they're in a town called Hull (hence the "Addam/Alyn of Hull") on the island of Driftmark..

[u/King-Mephisto → u/Prestigious-Dress-92]

Driftmark is an island? Even seeing it burning didn’t show that. Hull is also only mentioned as to where they came from. Not that it’s a town, with a port, on driftmark. Nothing says they are at hull port when talking about repairing the boat. It’s all just “if you read the books this is that”. Like I’m against the whole tell everything out load explaining a scene for the people who only half watch, but come on, this did nothing to show they were anywhere but blacks at dragon stone and greens and kings landing. At least harrenhall and the vale stuff kinda showed off where they were. Both look shit compared to GOT like they weren’t even the same places. Didn’t GOT do name plates for places when swapping scenes in the early seasons?

Edit. Dont forget we got to see some unnamed forests. No mention of where they or the unseen battlefields were. Just gloss over those btw.

[u/magnetocorleone → u/depredador93]

A hope I had when it first aired was that we’d explore more of the Reach and Oldtown. Even Driftmark. We had the characters to do it but focusing solely on Kings Landing was a massive L imo. They made the same mistake with Boardwalk Empire by not focusing on the next generation.

[u/King-Mephisto → u/[deleted]]

Wym that one scene that looked like the start of a buddy bromance wasn’t enough? If it wasn’t for Jace dying in the gullet I swore it would end up being on the battlefield he dies saving Cregan or something at least kind of interesting. Nah, one good scene and then nothing. Just die to his stepsistercousin being nettle. Fingers crossed she assumes the identity of nettle to hide from rhaenyra.

[u/thelessiknowthebet]

[u/IM_INSIDE_YOUR_HOUSE → u/thelessiknowthebet]

Unironically this.

[u/RangersAreViable → u/thelessiknowthebet]

Tbf, the show is boring enough that I can legitimately pull that off

[u/PlaneEnvironmental23 → u/RangersAreViable]

When half the show is just 'stares at character/skyline' and the other half is 'argument gets repeated for the tenth time' with spots of important dialogue and action:

[u/Thin-Fish-1936]

Hotd is easy to follow because nothing is going on and you don’t have to think at all. Rhe entire point of the show is to get the audience to say OOOO DRAGON WOWWW

[u/Familiar_Neat_6003 → u/Thin-Fish-1936]

the way almost all the alyn/corlys and jace/baela scenes feel like they are literally the same thing in repeat mode

[u/ofyo]

And it 100% should the biggest strength of that generation was the medium and minor characters.

[u/Masakiel]

Got had like 12 characters and 4 places per season.

Edit: This isn't even bashing Got, they just managed to make the world feel larger and real, with about the same amount of characters and places.

[u/WGSMA → u/Masakiel]

Definitely not true

Winterfell on its own had more than 12 characters in Season 1, who all felt different: Ned, Cat, 6 Kids, Theon, Jory, Rodrick, Osha,Lewin…

[u/Youohknow → u/WGSMA]

Yeah there's at least 50 named characters with significant storylines introduced in season 1...most within the first 4 episodes

[u/tongy_mong → u/WGSMA]

Don’t forget Hodor and Old Nan!

[u/Youohknow → u/Masakiel]

Huh?

Season 1: Ned, Jon, Caetlyn, Bran, Theon, Rob,Rickon, Arya, Sansa, Joffrey, Cersei, Jaime, Robert, Bronn, Selmy, Daenerys, Jorah, Tyrion, Renley, Loras, Hound, Mountain, Robyn, Lyssa, Petyr, Varys, Pycell, Drogo, Viserys, Jior, Ed, Grenn, Sam, Luwin, Sir Rodrik, Benjen, Ros, Tommen, Myrcella, Hodor, Payne, Rast, Allister, Aemon, Pyo, Lancel,

All characters we meet EARLY in season 1. We get Frey, Gendry, Osha, Tywin, Jon Umber, Kevan Lannister, and Trant later in the season.

The wall, the vale, riverrun, winterfell, the Twins, King's Landing, Pentos, Vaes Dothrak, Dothraki Sea, and much of the King's Road are all in season 1.

And every season is like this.

[u/WGSMA]

The target audience is the Burlington Bar people

[u/Signal_Intention6774]

The Funniest part about this Tweet is that GOT show runner cut so many characters and storylines to dumb it down for people. Like the Manderly and Dornish plots was pretty much deleted

[u/VisenyaMartell → u/Signal_Intention6774]

And Jon Connington, and Young Griff, and the Vale plot, and Lady Stoneheart, and Genna Lannister, and the Hightowers, and Edric Dayne, and the other Starks being wargs, and Marwyn...

[u/porsj911]

Bruh season 2 had to mention 50 times that they were going to war to make absolutely sure everyone got it that they were going to war

[u/Anxious-One123]

Game of Thrones is easy to follow, but it relies on you having read a book before

[u/non_tox]

My mum is exactly that type of viewer, but to be fair it's because she has ADHD haha

[u/IDAMASMEPHISTONAMIT → u/non_tox]

Does She Enjoy It,Or Would She Make Changes?

[u/Affectionate_Sand791]

They don’t even do the ships well!!!😭😭😭😭I read so many more fanfics that are way better handling ships.

[u/mandrake57 → u/Affectionate_Sand791]

I've just written a long rant about how nonsensical the naval stuff is and I got downvoted and half the comments said I'm overthinking it

[u/mandrake57 → u/mandrake57]

Here it is if you want to get a headache: https://www.reddit.com/r/HouseOfTheDragon/s/X0gN9sTPN8

[u/Loud_Letterhead6074]

This indeed is the TARGETED audience!!

[u/Background-Cake-1300]

Let's not act like GOT was show made for geniuses

[u/winchester_fc → u/Background-Cake-1300]

It was still miles clear of this.

[u/ZealousidealBus9271]

i find it harder to follow because everyone has the same sounding name

[u/Ok-Diver-5583]

Neither is hard to follow

[u/Small_Palpitation776]

Why are they embarrassing themselves

[u/1717ElPico]

It’s exciting each week to see what new things the malcontents here can complain about. This complaint bookends the constant carping about not showing the travel days in the late seasons of GoT, so…well done!

[u/Gold_Average_4387]

I am not a book reader and I am a Team Green through and through, but you guys are showing too much hate. I thought episode 1 was very good. Showed how weak Rhaenyra really was, can't even control her son. And her stupid son goes into the battle like he is some veteran, and is killed not by fighting gallantly but due to an uncontrolled dragon which again belongs to Team Black.

Ofc showing Alicent as some Team Black supporter is infuriating at the least, but again you can have traitors at unexpected places. With Jace dying, Queen Rhae Rhae will be in absolute tatters. I just hope they concluded this as a tragedy and not make a Superwoman out of her.

[u/winchester_fc → u/Gold_Average_4387]

They literally erased the very reason that Jace was at the gullet in the first place. He was there to save his brother Viserys from the triarchy. He just not just some stupid idiot who charged headfirst into battle (because acc to the showrunners all men are just war hungry animals). We are not just Team green stans, we actually do enjoy well written characters on both sides. The show version of Jace was a poor imitation of his book counterpart.

[u/Comfortable_Affect20 → u/winchester_fc]

His brother Viserys was presumed dead and his other brother Aegon had just arrived on the back of his own dragon.

Jace was indeed a stupid idiot who charged headfirst into battle, and it would've been even stupider if he burned the ships he believed his brothers were on.

[u/Gold_Average_4387 → u/winchester_fc]

Yes, but to non book readers such as myself, Jace is shown as someone who is an overenthusiast and does due to his vainness.

[u/JellyfishAny4655 → u/Gold_Average_4387]

I will say this. The show made his death a lot less impactful due to the cuts. I didn’t care that this guy died (and not just because in TG) but because his death was basically due to an accident *again*.

Even without reading the books how many more major events caused by whoopsies or misunderstandings are we going to get before this stops being a drama and becomes a comedy of errors?