Education is key, and I hold myself accountable for a show like Percy Jackson and the Olympians being nominated for excellence in audio description, so we’re going to continue to intentionally break down the audio description here.
House Of The Dragon (MAX) S2E6
Queen Reinera and Jace last discussed finding lost cousins to ride the riderless dragons, so they attempt that. The Queen is also given advice on how to win over the citizens of Kings landing, She also finds that an ally might be even more, and her dragon rider problem potentially could be answered in the next episode. Damon is still dealing with visions, tortured by Alice and his past, and needing to raise an army. Allicent contemplates on motherhood, and her failings as Aemond removes her from the council, ignores the will of the people, and demands that Otto be his hand. Meanwhile, Aegon wakes, but his life might still be in danger.
What I look For In The Audio Description: This is a fantasy show, and while it doesn’t take place in dramatically different landscapes, it relies on imagery from a period we don’t live in. We don’t live in castles and hovels, we live in homes. but, there certainly is some of that made easier by there being humans in the show, and the landscape not being on another planet. Still, to be immersive, we need continued reminders of the craftsmanship of the hundreds who work on this show, and some of the intentionality in how a chracter looks. For example, one of the bloodlines is easily represented through this really blonde hair, which is what Daenerys had in Game Of Thrones. It signifies something, and that would be an important detail about any character. the show is incredibly violent, as witnessed in this episode when a dragon roasts a human, and another human gets his arm chopped off. Embracing the violence is necessary. This also is literally called House Of The Dragon, and features those dragons. So, since dragons can’t speak, we have to capture them through audio description as much as possible. Often, the violence isn’t just through battle, but through the aftermath, where gore is still a factor. Right now, Aegon is severely burned, and the description should reflect his current state. Sometimes there are sex scenes, and those should not be under described either. On top of all of that, this has one of the largest ensembles on TV. It has characters with very similar names, and it truly is already nearly impossible to name every single character in the show, and if we’ve seen them before. This is a show where unless it’s a spoiler, use character names immediately, because we may not see that person for a few episodes, but we are expected to remember them. I’m a little exhausted that I know Hugh, but I keep getting “Raven haired woman”, and if her name isn’t a giant spoiler, I’m punching someone in the crotch.
What it Actually Does: With regards to the violence and gore, this audio description is leading the way. the battle scenes have been well described, and any and every chance to describe something horrifying has been leaned into. While the sex scenes are not quite at Bridgerton’s level, they also aren’t just phoned in with some lazy “thrusting”. For the most part, we are getting at least some of the set, scenery, costumes, and general production design mixed into every episode to help us be immersed. Keeping track of at a minimum of 23 named characters (I counted) in just this episode alone is really fucking hard, and when you remember that we have characters who don’t appear in every episode, plus people with no real names like Gold Cloaks, there’s a lot to follow. this is where it feels like the writers of the show are challenging the blind audience to remember all of this, and a casual viewer is going to struggle with more peripheral characters. I’m not sure there’s a fix for that, because this show is simply trying to balance too much. Obviously, there are more characters featured than others, but I truly forgot Allicent had a third child. It’s a lot of lore. One of the few things I really think the show could be better at is developing the dragons. I mentioned this in a small screen diaries recap, that some random dude on a boat recognized specifically which dragon is was. How? I don’t feel like I know enough about the differences in these dragons, except that Aemond rides the biggest and baddest motherfucker of them all. I’d like to know what makes each dragon different than the others, and how someone would see that from afar. I really loved the attention to detail this episode in regards to Aegon’s injuries.
Final thoughts: it is one of the most difficult narration tracks, in terms of what the show contains, but luckily isn’t consistent dialog. So, the audio description has a chance to help shape this world. Overall, i think Connor DeWolfe does a very consistent and strong job writing the script, and Roy Samuelson has been a solid narrator for this. Specifically, this episode I thought Olivia Cooke (Allicent) once again turned in a really strong performance.
Those About To Die (Peacock) S1E9
Another massive ensemble drama is coming near the end of the season, as political machinations are resolving. The battle for power with Dominicus leaves him punishing his former lover, while pieces in play that should have Titus concerned. Also, hell hath no fury like a mother who traveled this far, and worked this hard to get her kids back.
what I Look For In Audio Description: This epic sword and sandals drama also has a gigantic cast, full of people who float in and out of episodes. Even in the limited run thus far, it’s been challenging keeping up with them. So, character tracking is a big thing. Also, once again the set design is very intentional here. Luckily, this is historically based in Rome, and doesn’t feature dragons so you just have to work to describe the design of a time period, in terms of costumes and set. This is a cast of largely unknown actors, and aside from Anthony Hopkins, I truly have no idea what anyone looks like. Not specific to the first episode, I needed more in the initial character descriptions. While I assume certain characters are intentionally cast, because of where they come from, I’m still not sure, and there a multiple factions of people here too to consider. There’s a ton of violence here, including chariot races and gladiator fights. The violence and graphic detail must be important to capture the period. Also, there is sex in the show, and don’t resort to brushing over that.
What It Actually Does: A very well described show by deluxe and William Michael Redman. the chariot races are exciting and brutal, the gladiator fights are told in great detail. There is specific mention of the animals used, and in the 9th episode, there’s a lot of effort to describe this thing happening that seems like the origin of a circus, with Gladiators, dancers, and animals. mostly, I’ve been able to track the lead characters just fine, but recurring characters can be a pain.There really isn’t a fix for that, it just is how large ensembles go. however, i would have liked clear definition to know the casting here. I know nothing about these actors, they were all plucked from virtual obscurity (except for Anthony Hopkins), so I’m having to make too many assumptions based on how things historically would have been, but sometimes you have Bridgerton’s and Hamilton’s that break that mold.Also, IbI could use a little more attention to detail in the production and costume design to bring me into Rome.
Final Thoughts: On Saturday, I named this my first “critics pick” out of the small screen diaries because this show is excellent, and feels fresh in this current landscape. the audio description is once again strong, against high difficulty, and delivers mostly on that promise.
Join me tomorrow for more essentials so we can understand the nuance behind audio description, and how every title is truly different. One size doesn’t fit all.