Lol, it doesn't. Unfortunately after 5 episodes I can conclude that this show is really weak. 5 hours of the plot and there was 2-3 good scenes total, with the rest is a completely boring and badly written chitchat. The show suppose to be a fantasy story with kings, princesses and dragons. But so far it's some kind of teenage drama. I don't feel any grandiosity in the plot and no grandiosity of the characters, everything is so small, so closed up, so banal. The writers lack imagination, lack ability to show the richness of this world. It's like someone is laying on the floor and searching for something in a dirt on it, instead of standing up and looking around himself.

Two scenes in the show so far is what this show was suppose to be - the moment Rhaenyra lands her dragon and takes the dragon egg from Daemon. And the scene in the episode 4 with the suitors and that short duel with the young Blackwood. These are the only moments that somehow raised my attention, this is how this show was suppose to go. But instead we got really boring plots with endless talks between uninteresting characters.

I am also astounded how bad the actor that plays Ser Criston Cole is. For a significant role I would imagine the runners would hire someone that can express a wide range of emotions on his face, and not to look like he is always constipated.

The show is not interesting so far, and I don't see any potential that it would be. There are some shows that started weak and improved, but I don't think we will see anything interesting in the first season.

I really enjoyed the last episode. It's more of an intense drama than and adventure/fantasy show at the moment but it's finally getting more interesting.

I am actually very close to stop watching this BS. I find that court drama tedious and dull, it's such a bad writing. Why are we getting introduced to the father of her children and see his absolutely boring death in the same episode? Who even cares about that character, I don't even remember his name. Pretty sure I forgot it 5 min after his introduction. And then we see that other cripple son, doing some sort of cheap parody on the Little Finger. This writing is so stupid. We constantly hear that this house allies himself with that house, and they attack somewhere and they conspire against someone. And it's only being mentioned few seconds here and there, but this is actually what the show needs to be about. I want to see this, I want to see characters from other houses talk sh!t, and conspire, and attack, and kill, and I want to see the power games behind the throne. But instead we get the same BS again and again, some boring and totally redundant melodrama with kids and paternity and some other idiocy. WHO CARES??? I am really considering to give up, I think I will force myself to finish and watch first episode in season 2. If it continues the same I will quit.

"Let’s hope episode 5 starts to fire things up" I mean I guess technically it does because it gets "flaming" for a minute there. lol

But no, unfortunately it just keep slogging on. Episode 5 kicks up the virtue signalling in several scenes and I'm still waiting for more than 5 minutes action from this show. In GoT the court intrigue and drama was actually interesting. This just feels like high school drama.

Also the running joke is everyone has the same name so it's impossible to figure out who is who. GOT had names, or at least nicknames, that were so memorable that every time I see one of the actors in something else I scream their GOT name. HOD does have some small bits of greatness, but the teenagers are so not interesting. The King, for one, had a nice arc. I couldn't stand him from the start but that was kind of the point. His brother changing his loyalties EVERY EPISODE and somehow being mysteriously attractive to anyone is questionable.

I have to admit that it got better last 2 episodes when things got bigger perspective. Although it is still far from being good. The family skirmish got more interesting, but the story is still too narrow and too boring.