Paddy Considine and Milly Alcock in “House of the Dragon.” Credit: Ollie Upton via TNS
Just three years following the controversial finale of its predecessor “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s “House of the Dragon” premiered Sunday night to a staggering 9.99 million viewers, according to HBO.
The HBO spinoff show is off to a hot start and quickly making waves in the entertainment industry as the show to watch. Set 172 years prior to the reign of pop culture’s own Daenerys Targaryen, “House of the Dragon” follows the reign of King Viserys I in his ninth year of power.
Notably, “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George RR Martin is steadily attached to “House of the Dragon” and has superior authority over the show’s direction than that of “Game of Thrones,” which fell off due to showrunners’ decision to continue production despite a lack of his source material.
The series features some of the most impressive and controversial casting to date; ranging from high praise for series lead Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra Targaryen to some questions arising from Matt Smith’s prominent role as Daemon Targaryen. Regardless of opinion, it is clear that the show maintains a stacked cast, and the drama is set to soon unfold amongst all.
Maybe that’s the best part of being back as an audience member in Westeros: viewers can’t take their eyes off of the characters they are connecting with, and couldn’t be more disgusted with the ones they detest.
“The Heirs of the Dragon” starts with a strong, cold opening featuring no main title sequence; but does include minutes of exposition which feels innately similar to that of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which successfully places the audience in a new era for Westeros; one where Targaryen strength is unmatched.
Similar to “Game of Thrones,” much screen time is spent amongst conversation, and there is plenty of sitting around, talking and strategizing between old guys to intrigue or bore viewers. That’s not to say the characters are boring, and there are certainly front-runners for fan favorites, but the show follows much of the same elemental structure laid in the foundation of its predecessor.
The main act of the episodes follows an impressive jousting sequence, which is intensely cut and edited with the miscarrage of Rhaenyra’s brother due to a forced birth in her father’s desperate last attempt to produce a male heir. This is where the Targaryen turmoil begins, with one of the most difficult scenes to watch in recent television and the heartbreaking bloody death of Aemma Arryn, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Following the death of his wife and son, King Viserys makes the controversial, unheard of decision to name Rhaenyra as his heir of the Iron Throne, rather than his sporadic brother Daemon. There is an obvious hero’s journey developing for young Rhaenyra in this episode, and she proves ready for the challenge in her final word of the episode, “Dracarys.”
Episode 1 rating: 4/5
