HBO’s House of the Dragon has come to an end, and it has brought the fire back into the world of Ice and Fire. The show chronicles the height of Targaryen rule over Westeros in what is known as the Dance of the Dragons. One of the bloodiest and most ruthless wars in Westeros’s history. A war fought between sisters, brothers, sons, and dragons. A story about destiny, duty, family, and the lengths one will go to protect it. After the mixed reception of the last season of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon needed to come out strong to bring us back into the world of Ice and Fire. A task they not only accomplish but excel at. Both building on and improving from the original series, adding more depth and context that will please fans of both the books and series.
A Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones aired 11 years ago and took the world by storm. For most of us, it introduced us to the world of Westeros and became the must-see Tv event every week. Not since the Sopranos has a show caught fire across the globe, bringing everyone in on the drama between the Lannister’s and Stark’s and making “Winter is coming” a household phrase. While Thrones is undoubtedly an incredible feat in the art of television, House of the Dragon not only captures that lightning again but improves on it.
One of the strengths of House of the Dragon is that, compared to the original series, this story is much more centralized. Game of Thrones season 1 had the enormous task of introducing us to five separate families. All with their own motives and storylines for trying to obtain the throne. A task that, at times, could get tedious and confusing. Season 1 of Thrones really found its footing in its final episodes and started taking off at the start of season 2. Here it’s all about the Targaryen’s and how the biggest threat to their rule is themselves. For most of the original series, almost all of our characters are scattered across the realm, with each having their own storylines that rarely intersect, if ever. Here, all of our characters, for the most part, are in the same place. This allows for the conflicts and drama to feel much more personal and streamlined.
Fire and Blood
House of the Dragon offers us, for the first time, an unbiased accounting of what is known in the world of Ice and Fire as The Dance of Dragons. The book Fire and Blood that the show is based on is not a typical fantasy novel. Rather, it’s an in-universe historical text written by a character named Archmaester Gyldayn. Many of the accounts in the book are either told from his perspective or from a fool named Mushroom, who was also present for much of the dance, as well as a handful of other Maesters and witnesses. Their accounts often differ drastically from each other, and the book stresses many times that the truth of these events is somewhere in the middle or unknown entirely.
This puts the show in a unique position to entertain and surprise fans of the original series and the books. Fans of the book can watch the show and see what really happened during this dark and bloody war. Such as what truly happened between Lucerys and Aemond or Leanor’s true fate. The show did a masterful job of staying true to the source material while, at the same time, elevating it.
Blood of the Dragon
These series bring us in with dragons, epic battles, high stakes, and betrayal, but what keeps us coming back are the performances and people behind the scenes that bring House of the Dragon features one of the best casts of any show on television. Everyone from Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cook, the list goes on and on. It is hard to even write about because this article could just be about how great the performances are. Emma D’Arcy, who plays the realms delight Rheanrya Tagrayen, is the delight of this show. They embody Rheanrya so effortlessly and perfectly balance depth and nuance to the character.
Matt Smith as the hot headed and cunning Daemon Targaryen is one of the best castings in modern television. He brings so much charisma and complexity to Daemon. Not entirely bad, but definitely not good, Matt Smiths morally grey portrayal of Daemon makes it easy to see why he is George R. R. Martin’s favorite character.
Paddy Considine deserves every award possible for this show. Playing King Viserys Targaryen, his performance was mesmerizing and really brought Viserys to life. A man desperately trying to keep his family together while also protecting his kingdom, Considine tows the line perfectly of an honorable man and prideful king. The scene of him making his way down to the throne, crippled with sickness, will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable in Thrones history. The set designs, costumes, and directing were also top notch and just elevated all these great performances to new heights. Places like the Red Keep and Dragonstone feel more alive and detailed then ever before. The show takes its time taking us down its long corridors and stairwells with masterful camera work showing the size and scale of these sets.
A Prince That Was Promised
The show also adds more context and depth to the original Game of Thrones series. In House of the Dragon, we learn that it was not just a desire to rule that drove Aegon to conquer the seven kingdoms but a dream. A dream that one day a great winter will come from the north to destroy the world of the living and a Targaryen will be the one to stop it. This prophecy refers to the events of the original Thrones series and its titular character Jon Snow, (SPOILER) who we learn is a Targaryen. One of the best, and arguably worst handled reveals in Thrones, the inclusion of this prophecy adds much more weight and depth to that reveal and gives it true purpose. Many Targaryens have been lead by dreams of the future and making Aegon a dreamer as well is a very creative and interesting addition to the lore that could have many implications moving forward.
‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 – Final Thoughts
Like many, when the show first started I still had my worries from the way the previous series ended. What once was the talk of the town seemed to fade from memory in the past 3 years. House of the Dragon sets all of those worries ablaze and brings us back into the world of Ice and Fire with open arms. Both building off and elevating what we loved of the original series. While slow at times, the show does a great job keeping a consistent narrative structure while also jumping ahead multiple years each episode. The time jumps can be a bit jarring, especially if you have not read the book, but given the amount of time needed to be covered, they did a great job leading us into each episode and keeping us focused on our main narrative. This is just the very beginning of a long and bloody war and they have set the stage for what I think could be an even more shocking and engaging series than the original.
House of the Dragon Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below:
