Long-running (and I mean looooong-running) sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live returned this past weekend, and not a moment too soon, because election season is getting crazy and that's usually when SNL is at its best. But SNL also found time to skewer pop culture, including HBO's hit Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon.
This sketch was actually cut for time, but you can still watch it above. In this universe, House of the Dragon is Blonde Dragon People, a self-serious medieval drama about a bunch of people who have similar-sounding names. "Why does every person and city have the same weird name?" asks one fan. "Yeah, even Game of Thrones gave us one guy named Jon."
The names on House of the Dragon can indeed get a little nuts: I mean, there are three separate characters named Rhaenyra, Rhaenys and Rhaena. The sketch's biggest point is that these particulars are especially hard to remember when the wait between new seasons is so long; the first season of House of the Dragon aired in 2022 and the second wrapped up just the other month. And let's not forget that the second only had eight episodes compared to 10 in the first season. "That was the whole season?!?" one fan laments.
The sketch also mocks how often HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery have changed the name of their streaming app. "You see it was HBO. Then it was HBO Now. Then HBO Go. And then HBO Max. And now it's just Max." "Hm, sounds bad." And finally, Legolas and Gimli from The Lord of the Rings show up at the end for good measure.
I liked James Austin Johnson's performance as a Daemon-esque character with an impenetrable accent. Also this line: "By what right do you claim the metal chair of spiky knives?"
The Simpsons parodies the Game of Thrones series finale
This actually isn't the first time Saturday Night Live has parodied House of the Dragon. They skewered the first season as well back in the day:
There were a lot of Game of Thrones parodies flying around this weekend. The Simpsons took aim at the Game of Thrones series finale, "The Iron Throne," in its season 36 premiere, "Bart's Birthday":
‘THE SIMPSONS’ parodies the #GameOfThrones series finale in their Season 36 premiere. pic.twitter.com/DBiwoFu7QY
— westerosies (@westerosies) September 30, 2024
You know you've made an impact on the culture if you get parodied like this, even if the parodies aren't always kind.
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