Producing top-notch television is no mean task, especially something like House of the Dragon which takes place in the fantastic Game of Thrones world conceived by George R.R. Martin. Eventually, though, something is bound to skip past the special effects wizards that make these series possible in the first place.
House of the Dragon’s third episode premiered this Sunday, with the series’ first large-scale fiery battle taking up much of fans’ attention, yet some keen-eyed viewers noticed a modern cure for King Viserys’ health issues. In a gaffe first spotted by Twitter user Sarah Capps (@SarahBKnowsBest), parts of the Hulk green glove used by Paddy Considine can be seen unedited, in what should normally be shown as missing fingers on the king’s hand as a symptom of his mysterious ailment.
Recently, much has been written about the exhausting work conditions that some VFX artists and firms are subject to, largely in part to the growing demand for CGI from major studios such as Marvel and DC, this odd mistake is yet another stark reminder that humans are behind all this marvelous tech. The shot occurs when King Viserys Targaryen finally decides to send out help to Lord Corlys Velaryon and his brother Daemon to defeat the sadistic Crabfeeder, seen better in the image below.
The scene will remind many of Game of Thrones' own Starbucks cup moments, although that error was down to lack of awareness on set, which House of the Dragon’s team was especially careful to prevent, while the blame from this one fall on solely those who saw the footage in post-production and screenings. Perhaps the funniest bit of this incident is that Viserys’ declining health has been hinted as a crucial plot point, even if “Second of his Name” only made it stand out for this very error.
Some early fan theories have suggested Viserys’ disease could be an early sign of greyscale, while others have suggested it’s the product of some wicked plan from Daemon to poison his brother and get closer to the throne. In any case, considering how well House of the Dragon has been received by Game of Thrones fans, they won’t have a hard time forgiving this mistake, which at the time of writing had not been officially fixed.
Elsewhere on the fantasy front, Rings of Power released to somewhat mixed reviews, with its expensive CGI being largely praised, meaning Middle-Earth probably won’t see these kinds of errors.
Source: @SarahBKnowsBest | Twitter