#ngl i am also going back and doing a roundup for the first two episodes... fucking nerd (me)

[bidonica]

Art in HotD - 1x04 “King of the Narrow Sea”

(more art in Westeros) - (more art in HotD)

I didn’t set out to do an episode by episode analysis, but it’s not my fault this show keeps giving me material, so,,, Also I’m sorry for not embedding the references in the post and linking them out instead, but Tumblr keeps a ten images limit per post and I’d rather anchor the commentary in screencaps.

The episode opens with a look at the inside of Storm’s End (which we never got a description of in the books because all the action happens outside). It’s very spartan and undecorated, which sort of tracks with the Baratheon vibe.

Back in King’s Landing, we get a shout out to the textile art of Qohor and Norvos, which shows that they really are doing their homework because the tapestries are only mentioned in passing in the books when describing the council room. Unfortunately we don’t get to actually see them because Viserys decides to be a dick about it to Alicent. Boo.

We get a good look at the fresco under the wisteria arbor in the godswood. It seems like another instance of Valyrian taste being inspired by Roman antiquity, as it’s reminiscent of Roman garden painting:

It seems to be a more naturalistic, loose style of painting compared to both the more archaic looking erotic art from inside the Keep and the “international Gothic” style painting behind Viserys in the previous episode. This decorative naturalism tracks with both the paintings we got from imperial Rome, and the Renaissance approach to landscape.

Are those braziers to the left here dragon shaped or griffin shaped? the way the wings are rendered makes me unsure, but I would actuaally love if - kind of like in the real Middle Ages - the heraldic representation of animals wasn’t entirely accurate (see also the Velaryon seahorse sigil). Or it might really be a griffin, a Connington gift or an Essosi import just like the aforementioned tapestries. I also wondered how many pieces on set were commissioned and how many bought ready made because they fit with the aesthetic.

The dragon in Rhaenyra’s room. At least she doesn’t get sex/fertility art in the room where she supposedly grew up. My immediate reaction to the picture, however, was to associate it with the erotic paintings because it’s sort of flat and the lines are bold, but it’s also very flowery and ornate in a way that I associate more with the hunt painting from episode three that I “dated” to Jaehaerys’ reign. On the other other hand, the fact that it hides/signals a secret passage makes me think this might also come from Maegor’s reign.

And now, on to the good stuff: the scene where Daemon is banished to the Vale by Viserys gives us a clear, well lit look at the columns in the throne room. Let’s rewind the tape for a moment: the Great Hall in GoT looked like this...

It makes sense that it looks different two centuries later, and it has become richer and more refined. It also makes sense that Robert’s regime would have tried to hide or destroy the Targaryen signifiers around the Keep as much as possible (though in the books it seems limited to Robert taking down the dragon skulls and no substantial structural change is mentioned). But I also think HotD is jumping at the chance to imbue its design choices with lore in a way that GoT never cared to do, so - besides having an Iron Throne that’s more in line with how it’s described in the books - it makes the throne room another celebration of the history of House Targaryen. And once again it does so by looking at Imperial Rome: enter Trajan’s Column.

Trajan’s column was a monumental column, and as such didn’t serve a structural purpose like the ones in the Great Hall, but like their obvious inspiration they seem to depict war scenes - if you enlarge the screenshots above you can see soldiers wearing helms, warriors on horseback, archers, and in the bottom frame of the column on the right what seems like a cluster of shields (maybe a callback to the testudo formation, also depicted on Trajan’s column?)

The middle row here is the most interesting because it seems to depict a dragon wing flying over soldiers, while a crowd overlooks the scene from a balustrade (possibly cheering for the dragon?). If we assume that these columns have been designed with the Roman blueprint in mind, the narrative should be continuous across the different rows, so it’s unlikely that this scene is the conclusion of a war as it’s in a middle row.

Hard to tell which war, though. The armors and weapons depicted are stylized enough that it’s difficult to date them or even place them geographically; these could be scenes from the Conquest (the first two Dornish wars?), or wars from Valyrian history. Either way, this version of the Great Hall has been designed so that people who enter it see not only grandiosity, but also a long and victorious history; makes sense especially because relatively to Westeros, Targaryens are *new* and foreign, even more so when the Keep was built. The decorations on this most public facing room establish loud and clear that the house of the dragon is strong and has a history, something the sometimes very old nobility of Westeros has got to respect - and fear.

#art in hotd #house of the dragon #hotd 1x04 #hotd meta #roman art #medieval art #game of thrones #ngl i am also going back and doing a roundup for the first two episodes... fucking nerd (me) #keeping the art in westeros and art in hotd separate #for those who don't want to mix canons

[convenientalias]

My 2022 Kdrama Roundup

Making my 2022 cdrama roundup is taking too long (...I watched so many fuckign cdramas this year) so, since I watched considerably less kdramas, I decided to just do a post of them first!

KDRAMAS I FINISHED THIS YEAR:

The King's Affection--A kdrama targeting me personally. A crossdressing female crown prince would have been enough, but did she have to be so lethal? So handsome? Did she have to be good at both archery and swordfighting? And schemey? And did her love interest have to be a bisexual Rowoon? I was Attacked. My favorite kdrama of this year!

Eve--I'm always here for a solid Monte Cristo. Just people coming back with a new identity to fuck up the lives of those who wronged them. Lee Ra-el really goes for it. The drama, the angst, the fashion! Also the femslashy tension with Han So-ra was great, I need more female archnemeses in my life. The only thing is I didn't really like the actual romance that much? Maybe I just don't understand the tango.

Alice, the Final Weapon--More of a miniseries. The dynamic is a female assassin/a kind of suicidal masochist who becomes more invested in life after meeting her. And they're both highschoolers? Honestly the only way to sell me on a teenage romance is to make it this insane, I did enjoy.

The Silent Sea--Ngl it did creep me out a lot. The lunar water, that is. Didn't feel super connected in the characters bc this show is more about plot, concept, and action than character development, but it was quite tense and I was certainly invested in whether they were going to survive.

KDRAMAS I ALMOST FINISHED BUT DID NOT BUT WILL FINISH IN 2023, OKAY? REALLY!

Alchemy of Souls--I love Naksu/Mudeok! I love her fucked up mentorship with Jang Uk, especially in the early episodes where her attitude is just "throw him at death and see what happens". Also enjoy the obnoxious crown prince lols. I have only two episodes left (of the first season, at least) and have enjoyed both the scheming and the character development, but I have to say it can sometimes be a bit slow, and I don't care that much about ALL the supporting characters that have to have their moment in the limelight EVERY episode. (Park Jin and Park Dang-gu, I'm looking at you!)

Flower of Evil--New obsession! I had to stop watching for a week or so bc I was just bingeing too fast and losing sleep lols. The suspense is way up there, the whump is a thing of beauty, and I found myself super invested in Do Hyeon-su's life of fake (but come on, it's not really fake!) domestic bliss. Just so intense. I was kind of scared off by the hype for this show when it first came out but the hype is real, this show is incredible. Just hope the ending lives up to the rest of it.

Connect--An enjoyable thriller, but I don't really see why you have to make the antagonist of a show that already has organ traffickers, mad science and mutants... a random serial killer? On the other hand I do love his weird vibe with the surprisingly normal mutant MC so. I am not immune to serial killer antagonists.

OVERALL

A good year for morally dubious female protagonists (yes, I am including Lee Hwi/Dam-yi! she comes very close to murder multiple times and I am including her!). I watched less kdrama thrillers than usual bc I was watching cdrama thrillers instead, but the ones I watched were enjoyable. I want more fanfic for all of these shows but the fanfic wants I have are immensely specific so I should probably just write some but we will see.

#kdramas