Ormund Hightower’s death is well-deserved and truly satisfying

I didn’t read the book so I have nothing to compare the HBO series with. I watched it with an open mind — hoping that it would at least be entertaining. Season 1 was promising enough. Nothing much happened in Season 2. But eight episodes of Daemon Targaryen slowly going insane in Harrenhal made me roll my eyes too many times.

It was a favor to my daughter, Alex (who read the book), that I watched Season 3 — to keep her company because her father kept falling asleep in front of the TV. We just finished the season finale, she asked me if we would still watch Season 4, and I said yes because I want to see Aemond Targaryen die. Besides, I am curious how the rest of the story will play out. Alex told me that, after Season 1, the series has deviated too much from the book. Author George R.R. Martin isn’t happy about it and part of me wants to see if showrunner Ryan Condal will eventually hang himself with the rewrites.

Sure, the costumes and sets were as grand as what we enjoyed in Game of Thrones. But those were the only things that the creators and producers were willing to spend on.

Dialogues were bad. Really bad. Not enough budget left to pay good scriptwriters?

And then, there’s this illogical refusal to make the characters look their age. Olivia Cooke (who, to start with, seemed out of place in the series) as the grown-up Alicent Hightower look the same age as her adult children. What? She gave birth to them when she was a toddler?

There’s Ser Criston Cole played by Fabien Frankel. Yes, Frankel is good-looking. And I understand that he is an impressive ornament in the show. But, my goodness, is Ser Criston Cole some kind of immortal that he looked the same from Season 1 to Season 3 in a story that spanned at least a decade and a half? Why not get an older actor for the role when Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy took over as the adult Alicent and Rhaenyra?

It wasn’t easy plodding through Seasons 2 and 3 especially since there were actors who played characters I wished had died earlier just so I didn’t have to bear them any longer. It’s not the characters that I take issue with — it’s the actors.

Abigail Thorn who played Sharako Lohar, commander of the Triarchy fleet is right on top of my list. To describe her performance as overacting would be too kind. Discovered on Youtube, she has come out publicly as trans. Okay, I have nothing against that. But if you’re a trans playing a woman’s role, then, be a woman, for goodness’ sakes. She portrayed Lohar like she couldn’t decide whether the character was male or female. It isn’t just bad acting — it’s terrible acting. I’m just so thankful that her appearance was short and Lohar suffered a grisly death.

There’s Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, a whore who developed a spy network that got her as far as the Small Council where Rhaenyra named her Mistress of Whisperers. She was introduced in Season 1 but her role was expanded in Seasons 2 and 3. She is so annoying that my daughter and I wondered how on earth she landed the role. Imagine our surprise when we learned that she was Araminta Lee in Crazy Rich Asians and was on La la land too. Who instructed her to speak that way as Mysaria? I can’t count how many times I wanted Mysaria dead just so I didn’t have to listen to her speak again.

James Norton as Ormund Hightower. I undestand that Ormund Hightower was vain but his vanity was anchored on his belief that his name entitled him to power — a place in court where he could manipulate the young Daeron if he became king. But Norton portrayed vanity differently. His cockiness was more about his uber-masculinity rather than a political power play. That smirk that he wore permanently on his face was annoying, boring and pathetic. Who’s Norton’s peg — Andrew Tate? Good thing his character was introduced in Season 3 and he died by the end of the season. How he died is well-deserved and truly satisfying.

Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen. So many are raving over his performance, but I find nothing to be impressed with. The actors who portray his siblings, Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II and Phia Saban as Helaena, deserve more praise.

I can go on and on, but it’s 1.43 a.m. and I just wanted to get all of that out of my system.