House of the Dragon: S2

This weekend I continued House of the Dragon and Clarke's 2010. Both are clearly 3-star-out-of-5 experiences. So why in seven hells am I engaging? This is new territory for me. In college I was 90% through Jane Eyre, a book I loved, and couldn't justify the finish. Later, I left the happiness of Utah despite my host's arguments, because my personal growth was beginning to plateau. Two years ago I probably couldn't have consented to more than one episode of HoD and a handful of pages of 2010. Yet now I continue. This is a stark pivot in my life. For good or ill?

I think the following is obvious, but people's GoT sentiments amazed me, so let's document it anyway: Rhaenyra is the clear hero. There's no "pick a side" drama. The show is named after her house, she's been the heart of the show all along, and she's the most admirable major character. She's also the rightful heir. Who would pick the illegitimate Greens, with Allicent's negligence and her sons' psychosis? Daemon is ambivalent of course. His moments of heroism and loyalty endear me, while his violence and ego repel. Allicent is despicable, not by nature but by deed, which makes her tragic. Aegon's immaturity saves him from being an outright lunatic like Aemond. Viserys was flawed but ultimately decent. I wish I really liked the Velaryons, but Corlys' integrity waves, and those subplots are dull. Rhaenyra is who I'm in for, with Daemon as an engaging sidekick, Aemond as a deplorable villain. So I have a little investment.

But boy what a dull season compared to what could have been. Does all of this ramp-up pay off, or are they just milking it because they know people like me are hopeful enough for a great climax coming? GoT foundered in those middle seasons, I thought. Hopefully HoD rounds up like GoT did. It didn't make it all worthwhile, but it was a little satisfying. HoD is smaller in scope though. This won't turn into summer vs. winter or all realms hurricaning together. It's a relatively petty war of succession. A relatively petty war of succession with dragons.

With HoD and 2010, I'm just interested what happens. This is novel for me, continuing for mere plot curiosity. Such is the way of all flesh, it seems, if not by adolescence then by tired domestic adulthood. But are my growing responsibilities really the reason for my Nestea Plunge into easy entertainment? Or am I just giving up? Or am I actually committing to a new worthy lifestyle? I could see a little of all three. I'm tireder than I used to be, lazier than I used to be, I have more social motive to watch TV, and I'm being YOLO. What does YOLO look like? Drifting carelessly, or seizing every moment? YOLO drove me toward GoT. Maybe I let it drive me too long, past two seasons of HoD. Active YOLO tells me HoD doesn't matter, so don't do it. Passive YOLO tells me HoD doesn't matter, so do it, because you want to. I respond there are two kinds of want: what you'd do given the choice (one answer) and base desire (potentially many). I desire HoD, and I don't think it's horrible for me. Do I want HoD? Not really, I'm just curious. Curiosity drives me stronger than ever in my life, not necessarily because the drive is stronger but because I let it drive longer.

I wish TV shows didn't know how to end a season. I kept almost giving up on GoT, but the very end of a season would spur me GoT-ward. I don't know how actually close I was to giving up on HoD before this season finale, but in those last few minutes the pieces really took motion. I don't want to miss a grand collision. I want to see it in real time, having never missed a beat of rising action. That's how I feel at the start of every football season. If I knew they'd miss the playoffs, maybe I wouldn't watch every minute of every game. But if it's a storybook year, I want to watch every minute of every game. So every year I watch every minute of every game. FOMO.