'House of the Dragon' episode 6 breaks a 'Game of Thrones' record | Mashable.
'House of the Dragon' episode 6 breaks a 'Game of Thrones' record
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| Let. Her. Rest. Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO |
House of the Dragon's sixth episode, "The Princess and the Queen," kicks off on a harrowing note. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), all grown up after a ten-year time jump, is in the last stages of labor. Right after she gives birth to her third boy, an attendant informs her that Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) wishes to see the child. From there, it's a slow, painful tread through the palace for Rhaenyra, who is accompanied by her husband, Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan).
The sequence — from Rhaenyra's labor to the moment she and Laenor set foot in Alicent's chambers — lasts over five minutes and is made all the more engrossing by the fact that it's filmed in two long takes. There are likely some hidden cuts throughout the scene, but the illusion of continuous tracking shots keeps us locked in right from the start.
Both shots clock in at well over two and a half minutes long, making them the longest takes in any Game of Thrones show. For reference, the longest tracking shots in Game of Thrones include a two minute, 15 second-long introduction to Mole Town in Season 4, episode 8, "The Mountain and the Viper;" two one and a half minute-long sequences following Arya Stark through a burning King's Landing in Season 8, episode 5, "The Bells;" and a one minute-long prelude to the Battle of Winterfell in Season 8, episode 3, "The Long Night." Many of these long takes happen in episodes directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who also directed "The Princess and the Queen."
Not only are the tracking shots in House of the Dragon technically impressive and of record-breaking length, they also have great thematic significance. In the visual language of the Game of Thrones universe, a long tracking shot typically means a fight. Most of Game of Thrones's longest one-take shots happen right before or during great battles, like the Battle of Castle Black or the Battle of the Bastards.
No swords are drawn during Rhaenyra's labor, but the opening sequence of "The Princess and the Queen" depicts a fight nonetheless. As Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) says in episode 1, "The childbed is our battlefield." The unbroken take serves to emphasize that statement. Like her mother before her, Rhaenyra is soldiering through the agony of childbirth in order to serve the realm by bringing new Targaryen children into the world.
There is another conflict at play here, too. Already, we see the battle of wills playing out between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Already, we see how Alicent seeks to undermine Rhaenyra, and how Rhaenyra refuses to give Alicent the satisfaction of seeing her break. And while no one is dying a dramatic warrior's death in these scenes, pain is still being inflicted nonetheless. Rhaenyra literally leaves a trail of blood throughout the Red Keep. Good luck getting that haunting image out of your head.
On top of the thematic undertones of these shots, there's so much to love about the opening to "The Princess and the Queen." The unbroken takes allow us to see the full expanse of the Red Keep in all its glory. Sapochnik also makes sure to keep the camera trained on Rhaenyra for the entire sequence so we can watch her pain, anger, and humiliation play out in real time. This is our introduction to D'Arcy's take on Rhaenyra, and their performance is already a commanding blend of intense emotion and royal restraint. When it comes to kicking off the second half of House of the Dragon's first season, the show couldn't have done much better than this.
New House of the Dragon episodes are available every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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Is it me or the series is just overrated? First five chapters are dialog after dialog of people talking about marrying children with that happening far more than everything else combined.
ReplyDeleteThe weak king on the throne unable to cope with the political landscape is somewhat old to me.
Women complaining all the time about being married by convenience (males are too, but somehow this goes unnnoticed) and giving birth is also rare considered they do not go to wars or die the absurd dead men die in front of them as 9to5 duty (tournaments, wars, victim of pirates or whatever the Crabfeeder is, honor fights et al).
Acting is quite good, in contrast. And CGI is too.
But I ithink I've seen the good parts in GoT already and that there is not much new under the sun.
this and rings and Star Wars. Just all kinda boring . Honestly rez dogs is way more fun to watch than any of this
Deleteoverrated my a**, it's the Best one I've watched ever since GOT season 7
DeleteI will admit that last night picked up my engagement.
DeleteThat said, there will be like 12 more kings in the Targaryen dynasty, TWICE as many as there have already been.
So it’s hard to feel all jacked up about the significance of this coming civil war.
lol, was this supposed to be cleverly disguised sarcasm? Season 7 was hot garbage.
DeleteI’m finding it hard to care about any of these characters. Now there’s a time jump and I have a whole new cast of actors who still aren’t making me care.
DeleteThe significance is less about what happens to the Targaryens in this civil war than about what happens to the dragons. There are three major civil wars in Westerosi Targaryen history (this is the second), but this is the only one that has major significance for the dragons.
Deleteand.....how many episodes is the King going to be coughing and losing body parts before he dies?
DeleteHe is... "deconstructing" himself... 🙂
Deleteloved Reservation Dogs!
Delete🤣
Delete🤣
Deletenooo not the dragon 🐉
Delete😢🐉
DeleteToo many childbirths in one episode?
ReplyDeleteI was hoping the record was going to be the most dragons.
ReplyDeleteI counted five.
gotta be that too
Deleteand it seems they made the dragon's uglier than in GoT.
DeleteOverrated season
ReplyDeleteWaste of time.
I love it. I’m getting the Aegons and Rhaghans confused. But no more than I did with GoT when I first watched. I had to see it three times to get the names straight. This is a powerful story. I’m sticking with it.
DeleteExcellent series!
ReplyDeleteToo much darkness in one episode?
ReplyDeleteNot even anywhere near as good as GOT.
ReplyDeleteKill them all and the show also...it sucks
ReplyDeleteWho cares
ReplyDeleteWas it boredom?
ReplyDeleteBoring !
ReplyDeleteAwful show, not a candle 2 the original. Nothing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete10 yrs between ep 5 and 6, Gawd the princess and queen aged horribly, but Sir Christian didn't age a day, nor did Dameon
ReplyDeleteCast change is garbage. I’m out.
ReplyDelete