Three years after the controversial ending of Game of Thrones, we return to Westeros with House of the Dragon. It feels like we’ve never been away – even though the new fantasy series is set around 200 years before the events of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.
House of the Dragon doesn’t reinvent the GOT wheel, let alone break it. What the series by Ryan J. Condal (Colony) and Westeros inventor George RR Martin does in the first few episodes, however, is lovely Game of Thrones intrigues, with a clear focus on core themes of the series that got lost in the blockbuster ruckus of seasons 7 and 8. Only one character in the original series leaves a gaping void.
House of the Dragon sees the Targaryens at their peak – and on the brink
105 years after the Targaryens conquered Westeros on their dragon, their descendant introduces King Viserys I (Paddy Considine). cozy life. His reign is one of peace. This king even has a hobby that doesn’t involve hunting or wine: he tinkers with models of mythical cities in his free time.
© HBO
House of the Dragon
Viserys has one problem: he has no male heirs, “only” a daughter named Rhaenyra (initially Milly Alcock) and a rampant brother (Matt Smith), whom nobody thinks fit for power. Viserys’ advisors push for the production of a male heir. A woman on the throne remains unimaginable for them. The king, however, warms to the idea to break the tradition of male succession. Meanwhile, other factions in the court of King’s Landing position their human pawns to anticipate a possible rulership of Rhaenyra.
That’s how it will be Dance of the Dragons prepared, a cataclysmic civil war portrayed by George RR Martin in the fictional story Fire and Blood. If you want to go into epic battles with the series as quickly as possible, you should watch the 8th season of Game of Thrones again. House of the Dragon has a fiery but staying power.
The series takes its time to escalate at court in a number of ways
The first episode offers a jousting tournament, smashed heads, sex scenes and dragons (unfortunately not all at once). However, the power structure is then patiently exposed. Who Game of Thrones first of all because of the meaningful side glances, inscrutable power player and intrigue spinning in excellently lit castle chambers, will devour the prequel series.
The team of authors examined usual GOT motifs, especially the role(s) of women in a male-dominated world: as a commodity, a breeding machine, a passive means of political influence. They are bitter truths that are lived through, redefined, but also substantiated by numerous fascinating women in the series. Among them are Princess Rhaenyra, her best friend Alicent Hightower (first Emily Carey) and the experienced Rhaenys (Eve Best), who was once denied the royal crown and who leads the influential House Velaryon with her seafaring magnate Corlys (Steve Toussaint).
House of the Dragon – S01 Comic-Con Extended Trailer (English) HD
Like the original, the new fantasy series has the amazing ability to pull a character out of a hat every few minutes that you’d happily let yourself be drawn into a spin-off. However, one should neither bind oneself too intensively to stars nor characters. Firstly, because anyone can die here again. And second, because there are multiple time jumps in Season 1. Central characters are recast midway through, with Rhaenyra and Alicent leading the way, starting the series as best friends and… well. When Milly Alcock and Emily Carey morph into Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, the casting also paints a depressing picture of a relationship riddled with power games.
A GOT character is sorely missing from House of the Dragon
Despite all the praise for the characters and the cast, House of the Dragon suffers from a humorous abstinence. She is missing a Tyrion Lannister with his ironic breaking of status arrogance. On the one hand, it is commendable that (in the episodes released for viewing) no clone of an irreplaceable fan favorite was installed. On the other hand, the series rattles off so many components of the original that the Peter Dinklage-shaped gap remains unmistakable.
As a result, House of the Dragon seems surprisingly dry, at least for a series about a white-blonde, incestuous, dragon-riding royal family. At its best, however, the new fantasy saga is a reminder of why millions fell in love with the gruesome tales of Westeros. Game of Thrones is dead. Long live Game of Thrones!
This series check was based on the first six episodes of House of the Dragon. The series starts August 22 on WOW, via Sky Q and Sky Atlantic. After that, a new episode will be released every week.