The third episode treats us with more action (and more dragons) than episode two, but it's still not as good as the first episode, directed by Miguel Sapochnik, the same guy that directed some of the best episodes in Game of Thrones: Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards, The Winds of Winter, The Long Night, and The Bells.
But I'm not complaining that this episode is too slow. On the contrary, all the politics about who's going to be heir is what makes it a solid episode. The problem lies with the opening and closing battle scenes. Something that the directors and writers should keep in mind is that unlike A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, which often dedicate entire chapters to a small battle from one character's point-of-view and thus provide ample source material for the TV series GOT, the book that House of the Dragon is based on, namely Fire & Blood, is more like a factual record of history and much more brief in such matters. If I recall correctly, the book only covers the battles at Stepstones with something like "Daemon slew Craghas single-handed with Dark Sister, declared himself king of the Narrow Sea, but struggled to hold the islands against the Three Daughters in the following years."
So, while I appreciate how this show is trying to stay faithful to the source material (as opposed to the last season of GOT, the problem being that the last two books of A Song of Ice and Fire haven't been completed), the writer and director simply have to be much more creative with the battle scenes.
But I'm not complaining that this episode is too slow. On the contrary, all the politics about who's going to be heir is what makes it a solid episode. The problem lies with the opening and closing battle scenes. Something that the directors and writers should keep in mind is that unlike A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, which often dedicate entire chapters to a small battle from one character's point-of-view and thus provide ample source material for the TV series GOT, the book that House of the Dragon is based on, namely Fire & Blood, is more like a factual record of history and much more brief in such matters. If I recall correctly, the book only covers the battles at Stepstones with something like "Daemon slew Craghas single-handed with Dark Sister, declared himself king of the Narrow Sea, but struggled to hold the islands against the Three Daughters in the following years."
So, while I appreciate how this show is trying to stay faithful to the source material (as opposed to the last season of GOT, the problem being that the last two books of A Song of Ice and Fire haven't been completed), the writer and director simply have to be much more creative with the battle scenes.