“Game of Thrones” ended in 2019 after eight seasons. Now, the franchise has returned with a new prequel series with a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“House of the Dragon” is a drama series set in the same world that “Game of Thrones” had taken place in, only 172 years prior. The show follows the Targaryen family, the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen, at the peak of their rule. On the iron throne sits King Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd) and his young daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen ( Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy). Due to Rhaenyra being born a woman, she is unable to claim the throne, which begins the argument of succession for the iron throne.
Rhaenyra is a young, outspoken and ambitious woman who detests the misogynistic society she lives in. She desires to be the first female queen of the iron throne, but this is something that Westeros has never seen and has no desire to see. King Viserys has no sons by the end of the first episode, and he announces that his heir will be Rhaenyra. Many men around the kingdom do not support his decision and hope the king’s mind changes once he has another child, a son. The court pushes him into remarrying after his wife, Queen Aemma Targaryen (Sian Brooke), dies with no living male heirs. At the end of episode two, he does decide to remarry Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King’s daughter. Rhaenyra fears losing her position as her father’s heir, despite him reassuring her that it is secured.
“Game of Thrones” was a pop culture phenomenon with various characters, intricate storylines and well-done CGI. “ House of the Dragon” is no exception to this rule; it continues to portray powerful and unique characters with names that are remembered from the original series. The quality of CGI from season eight of “Game of Thrones” to “ House of the Dragon” has improved. The new series has also brought on new writers and directors, which could be another contributing factor to the show’s early success. According to Deadline, the third episode of the series had, as of Sept. 7, 16 million viewers. The viewing from episodes two to three was up 27 percent.
Social media has taken a liking to the new series. On Twitter, there are around 900 new Tweets every hour under #HouseOfDragon. Fans have been praising the new series, as well as the actors. One fan on Twitter wrote, “Four episodes into House of the Dragon and Daemon & Rhaenyra are already some of the best characters on tv.” Another wrote, “The casting directors did their thing.”
“The House of Dragon” allows fans to immerse themselves back into a world with dragons and drama, without carrying the dislike of the “Game of Thrones” finale with them while viewing.
“House of the Dragon” is available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes arrive weekly on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST.