The third episode of House of the Dragon, the popular prequel to Game of Thrones, ended with an unprecedented event. Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), the only heart-pounding character on the show, battled hordes of enemy soldiers on his own, dodging arrows and slaying numerous opponents to get to the mysterious Crabfeeder, his opponent. It was an awkwardly shot assault course sequence in a series known for its extensive and bloody battles—a video game you couldn’t even play. It was hysterically bad.
Even with its record-breaking number of Emmy nominations and high ratings, Game of Thrones had many flaws. It started out with structural issues and had a final season that was cut short, wasting some of the best fantasy storytelling in television. Although very little that happened in the 73 episodes of the HBO hit was absurd or merely silly, Daemon’s suicide sprint to kill a Phantom of the Opera cosplayer managed to elicit dismissive laughter. It wasn’t that it was unexpected; rather, it felt like an unfortunate culmination, which was the problem.
House of the Dragon can get better. It most likely will due to the specifics of the text it is adapting as well as—hope—a let’s course correction from those in charge. However, Game of Thrones is enjoying an easy ride because people are so happy to have it back in their lives, complete with the same weekly timeslot, the entire service industry of commentary, and the cultural ephemera that surrounds it. It appears to be a tried-and-true success if you tilt your head and squint your eyes metaphorically.
The new series and the original are difficult to separate, and House of the Dragon makes no attempt to do so. Everything in describing how House Targaryen, reduced to the young Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Game of Thrones, ruled the kingdom of Westeros nearly 200 years earlier is related: aristocratic families and institutions, production techniques, and narrative arcs. It produces oddly stunted offspring.
George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony) are the authors of House of the Dragon. The vast books that make up the (yet unfinished) A Song of Ice and Fire series, which served as the inspiration for Game of Thrones, were written by the latter. Game of Thrones elevated but neglected Martin, but House of the Dragon unmistakably shows his influence. It is a significant portion of his 2018 book Fire & Blood, which is written as a history of House Targaryen. It is jam-packed with timelines, family information, and event summaries. It is a summary.
Although the conflict between a family of silver-haired dragon riders and the ruling family on the page spans 30 years, Martin wanted to be inclusive and avoid rushing the beginning like Game of Thrones did with its ending. As a result, the first installments are brief incidents years apart. Between the second and third, a clumsy three-year gap occurred that produced neither notable change nor illuminating detail. There isn’t much to hang onto here as the plot will soon advance ten years and new cast members will fill some roles.
The show’s goals are compromised by the protracted gaps. Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), the female heir to her father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), and Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), who quickly became Viserys’ second wife after his first wife died in childbirth, are the two initially teenage girls whose perspectives House of the Dragon wants to explore. However, their friendship barely gets off the ground before they are torn apart by succession: Most Westerosi nobles would prefer Alicent’s young son with Viserys as their heir.
The show is severely lacking in contrast and earthiness. The King’s Small Council holds numerous meetings in an isolated environment where it is impossible to know what is going on outside the castle walls. Profiting from the conflict between classes was Game of Thrones. Consider the dialogue between the common soldier Bronn and the highborn Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) in Game of Thrones (Jerome Flynn). Also, could you tell us a little bit more about the magnificent dragons?
Although much is being prepared, not much actually occurs. Because it sorely needed some action, Daemon’s mission against the Crabfeeder was crammed into the third episode. The narrative comes to life thanks to Smith’s brazen younger brother, Viserys’ young and aspirational successor. He is the best example of why the Targaryens, outsiders who conquered Westeros, are deserving of their own television series. He is hungry to claim everything and snarls in his monologues. At one point Daemon steals a dragon egg, an awesome toy, to place in the crib of his child.
The second orgy on the show took place in a brothel in the fourth episode (clearly, some things never change in Game of Thrones), but Rhaenyra and Daemon’s attraction to one another was the show’s creators finally coming to terms with the supernatural heritage and bizarre customs of their main characters. It was an unexpected turn of events in a too-stodgy show. As the season finale approaches, House of the Dragon will undoubtedly pick up the pace, but it’s difficult to deny that almost everything we’ve seen so far borders on being unnecessary.
