Same world, different heart. For the first time, there is narration and lots of exposition in a Thrones episode and it feels wrong. Don't tell me what I'm supposed to care about, show me something with heart. The premiere of og GoT was full of scenes and lines whose sole purpose was to show us that the characters were like real people you would actually meet in medieval times. HotD's focus (based on comparing its premiere with that of the original) seems to be on spectacle: the dragons, tourneys, royal succession drama, and gender role dynamics. Very little time is allowed for really getting to know these people. They don't feel real, messy, or broken, like in the original.

I'm hopeful that this will change now that the stage and stakes have been set. I would like to really see what kind of people Rhaenyra and Daemon are. But if the show continues to bend the knee to cheap thrills then I'd have to say: maybe the apple hasn't fallen far, but its core has been ripped out.